Christmas in July
by Fan of my own Reality
Summary: Alas, Christmas comes but once a year. And since December is far too far away for my liking, I decided to give you a little gift now. Read on to see what happens when Angela throws a Christmas part - in July Rated M to cover future chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**Christmas in July**

* * *

Alas, Christmas comes but once a year. And since December is far too far away for my liking, I decided to give you a little gift now.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own them. But, I figured that while nobody else was playing with them I would slip them out of their box and make a break for it. Maybe if I got lucky no one would notice till I had had my way with them.

* * *

Chapter one:

* * *

Angela sat at her desk, deep in thought. Once in a while her eyes would light up and her fingers would fly madly over the keyboard in front of her, the smile on her face growing. Another idea came to her, this one brought with it a little chuckle and her fingers typed madly once again.

"Angela!" She was shocked back into the present by the exasperated words of her friend. "Are we going out to lunch today or not?"

She glanced up at Brennan sheepishly. "Sorry Sweetie, I didn't realize you were waiting. Let me grab my purse and I am good to go." She jumped up, grabbed her purse and they started wandering in the direction of the diner.

"I have been trying to get your attention for the last 5 minutes," her friend informed her bluntly, "What were you working on so intently? I didn't realize that any of the current cases required so much of your time."

Angela chuckled to herself, she could understand her friends confusion, it certainly wasn't like her to be so caught up in her work that it took away from her break time. But then again, this wasn't work that was filling her head.

"Ange?" Brennan asked again. "Are you going to answer me?"

"Sorry Sweetie, I have just been a bit preoccupied today." She was reluctant to share the details of her little plan just yet. She knew that Brennan would not share her enthusiasm and wasn't ready for the buzz kill just yet. She wanted to plan things out a bit more carefully and make sure things were well underway before she told Temperance what was going on. That way she would have no choice but to join in the fun. Another smile flashed briefly across her lips as she though of just what fun this could be.

"I can tell you're preoccupied, I was requesting to know why," her friend pushed.

"Just something I am working on."

"Yes, I assumed that much, I am asking what you are working on."

Clearly the evasive answers were not going to get past Brennan. She should have guessed that much. She considered spilling the beans, but she didn't want to risk being talked out of her grand plan, or worse still give her friend time to find an excuse not to participate.

"I was just planning a little party," she confided eventually.

"A party?" Brennan was confused, "But there are no birthdays coming up or any special occasions. I would know about it if there were."

Ange chuckled to herself again, Brennan did not know everything. Well at least she didn't admit to it if she did. When it came to the 'just partners' relationship between Temperance and her man candy partner, Special Agent Seeley Booth she was positively clueless.

"Why does there have to be a reason to have a party?" she asked her friend. "I just thought is might be nice to have a little fun."

Another smile flashed over Angela's face, and the little glean in her eye was not missed even by Brennan.

"What are you planning? Please don't tell me this is another one of your setups? As much as I appreciate your concern I am quite capable of meeting people and arranging dates without reliance on your assistance.

Angela silently cursed Booth for teaching her friend to be better at reading people. "Nothing like that Sweetie," she promised. "Just a little party for some of our friends. Just trust me. Please? It will be fun."

Brennan sighed once more. Arguing with her friend when she was on a mission like this was clearly fruitless. She would let it go for now.

* * *

Later in the day Angela spotted Hodgins working alone in his office and went about putting the next part of her plan into action.

"Jack, I need you to help me with something." The tone of her voice immediately alerted him to the fact that this was not a work related favour she was asking.

"Ange, what have you done this time?" he asked, his attention still on the samples he was analysing. Then, looking up he saw the look in her eye and amended his question. "Scrap that question. What are you about to do? And why does it need to involve me?"

Angela laughed. He knew her too well. Momentarily her mind drifted back to the stolen moments they had shared in any and every private place they could find in the lab. Pulling herself away from the memories she brought her focus back to the task at hand. "I'm organising a Christmas party and I need your help."

"Um, Ange, you do realize that it is July don't you?" Hodgins was bemused. "Surely not even one of your parties takes 6 months to plan?"

"It isn't going to be in 6 months." was Angela's reply, looking at Hodgins as though this should have been obvious. 'I thought we could have a Christmas in July party. December is far to long to wait and I need an excuse for a party."

"Right," said Hodgins, taking in the excited look on her face. The sparkle in her eye told him this was about far more than just a party. "And what else is this an excuse for?"

Angela cursed him silently. Damn him for knowing her so well. He could always tell when she was up to something. "I just thought is would be good to get everyone together outside of work. Things have been so hectic lately. And what better way to relax than a nice party?"

"But why a Christmas party?"

"There is just something about the holidays. Lots of food, alcohol, presents, mistletoe…"

"I see." Things suddenly made sense to Hodgins. Well as much as Angela's plans ever made sense. "And how exactly are you going to use a Christmas party to get Dr B to realize that she is madly in love with Booth and throw herself into his arms?

"I don't know what you are talking about. I just thought that it would be nice…"

Hodgins cut her off. "Angela, don't play dumb with me. I know the way that mind of yours works. If you want my help you had better come clean with me. Starting by telling me how exactly my services are required in this little scheme of yours."

Angela chose to ignore the first part of his statement and focus instead on the favour she needed. "I was hoping that you would let me host the party at your house. You have so much more space than I do and there is just such a nice feel to your place." Her mind again drifted back to some of the very nice feelings she had enjoyed at Jack's house, waking up with his arms wrapped around her, waking him up by…

She snapped herself out of it once again. What was going on with her lately? She really needed to stop thinking about him like that. They had chosen to go their separate ways. Back to just being friends. And anyway, this wasn't about her, it was about her friend, and her friends hunky, sex on a stick partner, and helping them realize they were more than just friends.

Jack's words brought her back to the conversation. "So you want to throw a Christmas party, this month, and somehow use this to push Booth and Dr B together?"

"I want to throw a Christmas party, at the end of this month, the 25th, and at your house yes," was her response.

"And what else do I have to do?"

"Nothing. I promise. Just let me use your house and I will be eternally grateful. I will take care of everything."

Knowing she was close to closing the deal a big smile spread over her face, and this was all it took to break him. Damn her and her smile. She knew he had a soft spot for that gorgeous grin of hers and the wide, sparkling eyes that went with it. "Okay," he conceded, "You can use my house. But, don't expect me to take the fall for what ever else you are up to. If Booth comes after me with a gun I am sending him in your direction lady."

"Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou, thankyou, thankyou!" came the response as she threw her arms around him in a brief hug, before she rushed out of his office beaming.

Hodgins was left standing, shaking his head. He knew he was probably going to end up being blamed for a good part of whatever it was that his gorgeous colleague was up to. But, if it got him more of her time and attention, and more hugs like the fleeting one he had just received, then he would go along for the ride.

* * *

Back in her office, with the venue now confirmed, Angela continued her planning. They were going to need food, and alcohol, lots of alcohol. And decorations, she would have to make things look nice and festive. And presents, it wouldn't be Christmas without gifts. Maybe they should do a Kris Kringle. If she teed it up just right she could perhaps make sure that Brennan and Booth ended up buying gifts for each other. Bones wasn't a big fan of the holidays, but she loved presents. This gave Angela an idea and an audible laugh escaped her as it occurred to her the lengths she could push Bones into going in order to get her gift. A perfect rouse to get her to play along.

"Something amusing?" enquired Cam entering her office, "Or don't I want to know?"

"Oh, um, nothing, well I am just organising a little party," Angela stammered. "At Jacks place, July 25th. You have to come, so mark it in your diary."

"Any occasion?"

Angela had recovered her composure. "I thought it would be a bit of fun to have an office Christmas party."

"In July?"

Why did everyone keep asking her that? "Yes, Christmas in July. It seems to be all the rage at the moment and you know I will take any excuse to party."

She had a point there, and the idea of unwinding and having a few drinks did have its appeal, so Cam agreed to keep the evening free for the party before turning the discussion back to more work related topics.

* * *

Her plan was coming together nicely, but her work was far from done. She glanced at the calendar. It was the 8th of July. That gave her a little over two weeks to pull this off, and while she now had a venue and two confirmed guests, the hard work was still before her.

Picking up her phone, she dialled Sweets extension. As much as she was hoping that Daisy, the insanely chatty intern that the young psychiatrist had hooked up with was unavailable, she knew she had to invite them. She couldn't claim it to be an innocent office Christmas party if she didn't.

"Hey Sweet's," she said as he picked up. "Christmas party at Jacks house, July 25th. I will get your invite to you soon, but keep the date free, and bring Daisy."

She was about to hang up when Sweet's challenged her. "A Christmas party? In July?"

Ignoring the question she was sick of being asked she decided to bait the young doctor instead. "Come on," she encouraged, "Wouldn't you love a chance to observe our favourite 'just partners' in action once they get a bit of alcohol into their systems?"

Sweet's chuckled, she had him there. He assured her that he would be there and promised to check with Daisy and let Angela know if she was free.

Secretly hoping the Daisy was otherwise engaged for the evening Angela mentally checked two more names off of her list. Four people down, two to go. And this was where it became a bit more challenging.

* * *

And then there were two.

Angela debated in her head the best way to confront the next obstacle. In the end she decided that over the phone was the way to go. Less chance of Booth gut catching her out that way.

Booth was confused to see Angela's number showing on his cell. There was no active case that they were working on and that was generally her only reason for calling him.

"Booth," he answered.

"How is my favourite, spunky FBI Special Agent going? She enquired, trying to sound casual.

Booth groaned silently. He knew she didn't mean anything by it, but Angela's insistence on objectifying him was really getting old. That, and she was being overly perky, even for Angela. His gut was already sounding a warning as he returned her greeting. "I am fine thanks. What can I do for you?"

Angela jumped at the opening. "You can come to my Christmas party," she told him, continuing before he could ask her why like everyone else had done. "It is a Christmas in July party, Jack's place, July 25th. I will get your invite to you soon, just make sure you keep the date free."

"I'm not sure that I'm free sorry Angela," Booth lied, "I think I have Parker that weekend." He knew he didn't. That was Rebecca's weekend. And normally he had no issue with socialising with the squints, but Angela was up to something, his gut was sure of that much, and he wasn't going to dive in head first until he worked out what it was.

"Well change weekends." Angela was not going to be put off that easily. "I am sure Rebecca will be able to do you a swap. I can even ring and ask her for you if you want me…"

"That won't be necessary," Booth interrupted. "I am quite capable of handling discussions with Rebecca myself."

"Great, I will mark down that you are coming then."

"I didn't say that," Booth protested, but it was too late. Angela had already hung up the phone. Booth let out an exasperated groan. Just what was she up to? He would have to speak to Bones and see if she knew anything more about this little get together.

* * *

It was now or never. Angela knew it wouldn't take Booth and Brennan to swap notes about her planned get together. She had to act fast and talk her friend into it before the two of them had a chance to talk each other out of it. She jumped up and made a beeline for Brennan's office.

"Okay Sweetie, the party I told you about is at Jack's place, July 25th," she informed Brennan without waiting for her to look up from her work. "I will get the invites out ASAP, but we are having a Christmas in July theme and it is going to be awesome. So mark the date in that little planner of yours and we will go shopping soon and find something gorgeous for you to wear."

Brennan quickly processed the information Angela had imparted and interrupted her in her attempt to turn and flee the room. "Wait, Ange. Why Christmas in July? Christmas is in December. And why do you need a theme anyway?"

"Yes, I know Christmas is in December but I thought it would be fun. And why not have a theme. Besides, I have already told everyone else that is was a Christmas party and they all loved the idea and agreed to come."

"Everyone agreed?" Brennan asked with eyebrows raised. "Based on the impossibility that you could have actually invited 'everyone', whom does this guest list include?"

"Myself, Hodgins of course, although I guess that much was a given since we are having it at his house and Cam, and Sweets and Daisy. Well actually I am not sure about Daisy yet, but definitely Sweets. And Booth said he would be there. And you."

"Booth agreed to your premise of celebrating Christmas at a time other than when his religion accepts it to be?"

"Booth said he would be there," replied Angela. "He didn't make a big deal out of it being a Christmas party so I don't see why you should have any problem with it. I just thought it would be a bit of fun."

Angela was looking at her friend with pleading eyes. "Come on, you owe me."

"I owe you?" Brennan asked eyebrows raised once more. "I am not aware of any such debt that I have outstanding. What are you asserting that you are due repayment for?"

Damn, Angela was hoping that she would just let that one slide. "Um, well…"

Brennan couldn't help laughing at Angela grasping for an explanation. She was up to something, that was clear.

"For being such a good friend, and for looking out for you, and making sure that you get out of this lab once in a while. Please? Just say you will come."

"Okay, if it means that much to you I will be there," Brennan conceded. She had not forgotten Angela's behaviour earlier in the day, and she was becoming quite certain that there was more to this party than just the 'bit of fun' that Angela claimed, but she would go along for the ride.

Angela squealed loudly, launching herself towards Brennan. "Thankyou Sweetie! We will go shopping later in the week and find you something stunning to wear."

"I am sure I can find something perfectly adequate to wear from the items of clothing that I already own Ange."

"We will go shopping later in the week," Angela repeated, and left her friend with a broad smile before retreating back to her office. It was all falling into place nicely.

* * *

**TBC**

**Please review, please, please, pretty please. I am new at this so any feedback good or bad would be appreciated in order to point me in the right direction and make this more enjoyable for all.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two:

* * *

Finally finished for the day Booth eased his truck out of the parking lot. Not in the direction of his home however, but rather in the direction of the Jeffersonian. He knew Bones would still be there, caught up in her work as usual. He figured he would drag her out of the lab and get some dinner into her. Seeing if he could gather a clearer picture of what Angela was up to at the same time.

Brennan was sitting at her desk, her fingers madly flying over the keys, when she became aware she was not alone. Glancing towards the doorway she greeted her partner with a smile. "Hi." She glanced at the clock and when she saw the time she knew he was here to drag her out to dinner before the words had even left his mouth. "Just let me finish what I am doing before I forget and I will grab my coat," she told him.

Booth took a seat on the couch in her office and let her go about finishing what she was doing. He watched with awe as her hands caressed the keys, no doubt filling the screen quickly with text. His mind drifted towards wondering what else those hands might be good at when he was snapped back to reality by Bones standing up and announcing she was done. He chastised himself for his thoughts as he stood and followed her out the door. She was his partner for goodness sakes.

They fell into a comfortable rhythm as they made their way towards the diner, and after the initial pleasantries about their respective days conversation soon turned to Angela and her party.

"I suspect that Angela is up to something," she began.

"Oh?" he responded. He was sure she was up to something but was interested to hear Bones take on the situation. Lately her intuition had been coming on in great leaps and bounds and he was proud to see her starting to use her gut a bit more rather than relying solely on what she got from the facts.

"She is organising a Christmas party. In July. Doesn't that seem a little odd to you."

Booth chuckled. Maybe he had been a bit too quick with the praise.

"What?" she challenged. "You don't find it odd that she is choosing to celebrate an occasion that is nearly as far in the future as it is in the past?"

"Celebrating Christmas in July isn't a new concept Bones. Lots of people use it as an excuse to have another party. Even some of the stores are starting to get in on it this year. And you know what Angela is like better than anyone. She doesn't need much of an excuse to throw a party. Is that the only reason you think she is up to something?"

"Not the only reason, no. But is still seems odd to me. You don't find anything odd about this at all?"

"I didn't say that," Booth quickly responded, "I agree with you wholeheartedly, she is definitely up to something. I was just interested to hear your views on what it was."

"Ah, I see." Bones felt better knowing that he shared her feelings. She continued, "Well aside from her insistence on it being a Christmas party, I find that her behaviour in relation to the subject unusual. She is being secretive, she is clearly very proud of herself, and she is far more insistent that I attend than is usual for such get togethers. She even wants to take me shopping for an outfit to wear. I can't really describe why, but something about it is eliciting a response from my nerves."

That was his girl. Booth smiled a wide smile. "Your gut is telling you that something isn't right. I am impressed Bones. You really are getting better at reading people. Soon we will be unstoppable. Between your gut and mine no case will ever go unsolved again."

Bones blushed and attempted to divert his praise. "I thought we were already unstoppable?" She didn't know why his words affected her the way they did. She knew she was the worlds leading anthropologist, an award winning, renown author. She was brilliant, and beautiful, yet a few small words of praise from her partner made her blush. More than that is made her feel warm inside, and science was telling her that this should not be the case. She focused her attention on the path before her and hoped he wouldn't notice the added colour to her cheeks.

He did notice however. He couldn't help it as the blush spread over her face giving her a warm glow against the dark night and the amber streetlights. _"Snap out of it Seeley for goodness sakes. This is your partner you're looking at."_

He directed their focus back to their colleague and he upcoming party. "Angela was very insistent in making sure I was coming as well. She even went as far as to offer to ring Rebecca for me and get her to swap weekends with me so I would be free."

"But that isn't your weekend with Parker? Or had you swapped for a different reason?" She knew his routine almost as well as he knew it himself.

"Well I told Angela I wasn't sure if I was free. She was pushing me so hard to come that it was making me think agreeing to do so was a bad idea."

"Oh," came the distant reply.

They continued in silence for a while, reaching the diner and claiming their usual table. Orders we placed, drinks came and still she seemed to be caught up in a world of her own. Gears had swung into action in that gorgeous head of hers. "Penny for your thoughts?"

"Pardon?" she glanced up confused.

"It's a saying Bones. You were lost in your own little world and I was asking what you were thinking. Did I say something wrong earlier? You have barely said a word since we sat down."

"No, no, nothing wrong," she drifted back into her thoughts again.

"Come on, let me in, I know there is something ticking around in there," he pushed gently.

A large part of her was telling her to keep quiet, but when she looked up and found his deep brown eyes locked on hers, her resolve melted. "It's probably nothing," she told him, "But when Angela first told me about this party I got the impression that she was trying to use it to set me up on a blind date."

"And now you are wondering if the date isn't so blind after all?"

Bones looked confused again. "A blind date does not imply either of the parties are visually…"

Booth cut her off. "I know what a blind date is Bones. What I meant was that you thought maybe she wasn't trying to set you up with a stranger, but with someone you already knew." Things were starting to make a lot more sense now.

"Possibly," Bones nodded. "I certainly wouldn't put it past her."

"Nor would I," Booth agreed, "I think your gut just cracked the case."

"But we're not working on a case at the moment?"

Booth couldn't help but laugh at her. For such an incredibly intelligent woman she could be very daft at times. "I mean that I think you just figured out what Angela is up to," he told her. Then raising a glass for a toast he continued, "To your gut."

Bones laughed, colouring again, and clinked her glass against his. The conversation shifted to lighter banter and they enjoyed the rest of their meals in comfortable harmony. Booth silently congratulated himself for steering the conversation away from the awkward. They could decide what to do about Angela another time. He felt better knowing what she was up to, and after a long day he really wasn't in the mood for where that conversation may lead them.

* * *

Angela was sitting on her comfy sofa. A glass of red wine in one hand, a pen in the other, madly scribbling in a notebook balanced on her knee. She had most of the mundane details organised, the food, the alcohol, the decorations. Now she had turned her attention to the much more enjoyable parts of her plan. The Kris Kringle, and the challenges people would have to complete in order to be allowed to open their presents. Everyone would have to buy a gift for one of the others attending, and she would take custody of all of the gifts. Everyone would also select a challenge out of her Santa hat. That way they couldn't blame her for what they had to do as they had chosen themselves. And only once they had followed the instructions to her satisfaction would she let them have their present.

She just needed to work out how to make sure that Bones and Booth chose each other from her hat. And that they got a nice juicy challenge to perform each. Well that and she needed to convince them to play along, and everyone else for that matter. But she was getting ahead of herself. She needed to finish her list.

She already had challenges picked out for Bones and Booth, and she had two in mind for the other guests, 'Accept any drinks offered to you at the party', and 'Grab the ass of another party guest.' She needed two more. That way there was one for everyone, and if by luck Daisy was unavailable she would take the one that was remaining.

Inspiration came and she scribbled madly on her notepad once again. Yes, they would do perfectly. Now it was just the logistics of making sure that the right people got the right cards from her hat. She knew this when against the spirit of a lucky dip, but she was sure the party Gods would forgive her. Her friends may take a little longer to come round, but it would so be worth it.

She switched her attention to her sketch pad and drew up the invitations for the night. When she was satisfied that she had the right mix of both important information and festive cheer she put her work aside for the evening, thrilled with her progress. She would make copies of the invitation tomorrow and send them out, then when she saw them in person she would let them choose their challenge and person to buy for.

Calling it a night, she crawled into bed and soon drifted off into happy dreams as her mind played out what she hoped would follow.

* * *

**TBC**

**Please keep the reviews coming :) Thankyou for those who offered kind words.**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

* * *

The bright sunshine the next day was matched by Angela's mood as she practically skipped into the Jeffersonian. She made her way directly to the Xerox machine and made copies of her invitation ready to hand them out, before retreating to her office to put the final touches on her Kris Kringle plans.

The fact that she had arrived almost a half an hour before her scheduled start time did not go unnoticed however. Bones had been working hard in her office for the last 2 hours, and while it was by no means unusual for her to keep such hours, seeing her friend arrive on time, let alone early was not a sight that she was used to. Curiosity got the better of her before long and she made her way to Angela's office.

"Morning Ange," she greeted her friend. "You're here early."

Angela jumped, clearly not noticing Bones in her doorway until she spoke. "Hey Sweetie," she responded, trying not to draw attention to that paper she had been writing on as she slid it to the bottom of the pile in front of her.

"What brings you in so early?"

"Just putting the finishing touches on my party invites," she replied, "I should have yours ready for you in a few minutes. I'll bring it over to you when they are done."

This explained what had brought her in so early, and Bones, satisfied with knowing what was going on agreed to chat more to Ange later and returned to her own office.

Angela let out an audible sigh once Bones was out of earshot. Her well thought out plan for rigging the Kris Kringle and challenge draw had come too close to being busted for her liking. She chastised herself for not being aware enough of what was going on around her, and once sure that she was no longer being watched, she went about her preparations once more.

She retrieved the sheet of paper she had hidden at the bottom of the pile. She had already printed 'Booth' on it six times, and she now cut it into pieces, folding each piece in half and placing them into an envelope. She repeated the process, writing 'Brennan' six times on the next piece of paper, cutting and folding these and placing them into a separate envelope. Into a third envelope she placed single copies of the names 'Hodgins',' Cam', 'Sweets' and 'Daisy'.

Reminded of the fact she was yet to confirm whether or not Daisy would be attending, she picked up the phone and dialled Sweets extension. "Morning Sweets," she greeted, silently praying to the party Gods that Ms Wicks was otherwise amused for the evening in question. "Just checking to see if you had spoken to Daisy about the Christmas party?"

"Hi Angela. I was going to give you a buzz later in the day about that. Daisy has plans that she can't get out of during the early part of the evening, but she would love to join us for a drink or two when she is done if that is okay?"

Busy for some of the evening was better than nothing, and it gave Angela an excuse not to include Daisy in the gift giving and challenges. A wave of relief washed over her. "That'll be fine Sweets," she told him. "Just tell her to pop in later in the night. I will just leave her name out of the plans for the earlier part of the evening if you don't think she will mind too much?"

Having no backup plan if Sweets was to insist on including Daisy, Angela crossed everything that he would go along with this. Assuming she was referring to catering details Sweets agreed that this made perfect sense. After ascertaining that Sweets would be stopping by the Jeffersonian later in the day, at which time she could give him his invitation, Angela wished the young psychiatrist a pleasant day and went back to her planning. She fished Daisy's name out of the envelope and replaced it with her own. Looks like she would get to join in the fun after all.

She then went about preparing the challenges in the same way. Four separate challenges in one envelope and the remaining two printed six times each into separate envelopes. Perfect. Picking up the two she intended for Brennan, along with a copy of the invitation she headed for Brennan's office.

"Here you go Sweetie. One invitation as promised." She handed the invitation over with a broad smile. "And to go with it, I need you to choose one piece of paper from each of these envelopes."

Bones eyed the envelopes suspiciously. "And what is the significance of the pieces of paper I will be choosing from the envelopes?"

"Well it wouldn't be a Christmas party without a Kris Kringle," Angela told her as though this should have been obvious.

"Okay. But why two envelopes?"

"The other envelope contains the challenges. You have to complete a challenge in order to receive your gift."

"A challenge?" Bones looked sceptical.

"Yes Sweetie, a challenge. A harmless little task for you to complete if you want to unwrap your nice shiny present and see what surprises are inside of it for you."

Brennan's eyebrows were still raised.

"Just trust me. It will be fun. Besides, if you don't want to complete your challenge you don't have to. I will just return your present to the person who purchased it." She knew that there was no chance of this happening however. Bones could never resist a present, especially when it contained a surprise.

Hesitantly Bones reached into each envelope, carefully selecting one piece of paper from each. Opening the first she read the name 'Booth.' She coloured slightly for reasons she did not understand. She had bought him gifts before, why should this be any different? Opening the second piece of paper her jaw dropped. "Angela, there is no way I am doing this!"

"Doing what?" asked Angela, trying to suggest that she was not already aware of the words written on the piece of paper. "Which one did you choose?"

"Go the entire 24 hours without wearing any underwear on the day of the party," she read aloud.

"Well that makes dress shopping easier," Angela laughed, "We don't have to worry about finding underwear to go under it."

"Ange!" Bones was clearly exasperated. "I am not going to parade around with no underwear on for the day. And why are you so concerned with what I wear to this party anyway? I am quite capable of dressing myself!"

"Just humour me sweetie. I haven't got any sisters to drag clothes shopping with me. Please? And nobody said you had to parade about. The challenge just says you can't wear any underwear. Besides, as I already said, if you don't want to play, you don't have to. You just don't get your pressie unless you play along."

Bones was looking defeated. She dealt with facts, and logic. That was her comfort zone. This, whatever this was, was not her comfort zone. Angela was making her head spin. Realizing that Bones was no longer arguing Angela took the opportunity to escape. She gained a mumbled "Okay," in response to her pushing for a shopping trip the following week and left her friend in peace for the moment.

Returning to her office she stashed the two envelopes she had used for Bones in her desk drawer and retrieved the two intended for the other guests. Well the other guests excepting for Booth anyway. She cornered both Hodgins and Cam, giving them their invites and convincing them to pick from her envelopes. Cam raised her eyebrows at the sight of her challenge but took little convincing, and Hodgins was reduced to laughter when he saw his, which she took as a sign that he would play along.

Once she was alone again she couldn't resist peeking to see what was left in the envelopes. She told herself she was checking to make sure that she didn't end up with her own name for the Kris Kringle, but she would have undoubtedly peeked even if her name was not in the draw. 'Cam' and 'Hodgins were the two names remaining. Perfect. She could let Sweets chose safely without worrying about him selecting himself, or of her being left with herself.

She couldn't resist peeking in the challenge envelope to see what was left either and was just chuckling to herself at the possible selections when Sweets interrupted her. "Hey Angela," he knocked as he entered her office, "You wanted me to stop by and grab my invitation."

"Hiya Sweets. Yes, here you go. One for you and one for Daisy, so that she has Jacks address and my cell number for afterwards. Also, before you go, I need you to choose your Kris Kringle buddy and a challenge."

"A challenge?" He asked, curious.

"Absolutely," Angela assured him. "Since I haven't got St Nick to tell me if you have been naughty or nice I've decided that everyone has to work for their presents. If you complete your challenge you get your gift, if not, I return it to the purchaser after the party."

"Right. And what sort of challenges are we talking about?"

"All harmless fun," Angela assured him. She had been using that line a lot lately.

Sweets selected from the remaining scraps of paper, colouring as he read the dare. "Right, and this is your idea of harmless fun? Trying to make sure I get drunk?"

Angela held her hands up in defence. "Hey, don't blame me, you picked it. And anyway, it doesn't say that you have to drink every drink given to you, it just says you have to accept them. What you do with them is up to you. And if you don't want to play, then you just don't get a present."

"Okay, okay," Sweets conceded as he started to make his way out of her office. "Anyway, I have work to do. I will see you at a later stage."

That just left Booth. Things were going smoother than she expected. Angela went about busying herself with non party related matters satisfied with her progress. She was sure that Booth would drop by for one reason or another before the day was through and she would catch him then. Checking the scraps of paper that were remaining, she saw that she had to buy a gift for Cam. She was disappointed that it was not Hodgins name on the piece of paper, but at least she had a fun challenge to complete. Her mind drifted and she found herself wondering if Hodgins had chosen her name. And if he had, what would he get her? She rested her head on her hands. "We are just friends," she reminded herself, "Just friends."

* * *

She didn't have to wait long before Booth appeared and she cornered him before he made it to Bones office. "Here's your invite Booth and I need you to choose a slip of paper from each of these. One for your Kris Kringle and the other is your challenge for the day."

"My challenge?" Booth was glad he had coffee in his system already. Angela made little enough sense when he was functioning on all cylinders.

"Yes, your challenge. We all have one. If you complete your challenge, you get your gift. If not, I give it back to your Kris Kringle."

"This is all assuming that I am free and actually coming to the party however."

"You said you would speak to Rebecca?"

"No, I said I didn't want you speaking to Rebecca. Big difference. I didn't say I would come."

"Well you didn't say that you wouldn't come. And it is all organised. It will throw everything out without you. Please Booth?" She hadn't come this far to have it all fall apart. "Please, please, please let him come," she wished.

"Angela, that look may work on Jack, and countless other guys, but I have a kid. I am immune to puppy dog eyes."

Angela knew she was going to have to switch tactics, and fast. "What's the problem Booth? Afraid of being out-drunk by a bunch of squints? Or are you too chicken to play along with the games?" She knew it was a low blow, but she was getting desperate.

"Fine," he said, I will be there. He grabbed a piece of paper from each envelope and shoved them in his pocket without looking at them, before continuing on his way to find Bones.

Relieved, Angela returned to her office, wiping the faint tinge of perspiration from her brow and letting out an audible sigh. Thank goodness! The hardest part out of the way she could now sit back and relax and plan a nice shopping trip with Brennan.

* * *

**TBC**

**Please, please, please take the time to leave me a few words – good or bad, I value your feedback. The more of you that take the time to leave me a comment, the more I am motivated to give up my time to get the next chapter to you quickly!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Too boring and predictable? I should just leave it here and stop wasting everyone's time? Just reading at this point in the hope of me getting to the point? Or the smut? Let me know once you have finished the chapter. Please?**

* * *

Chapter 4:

* * *

Bones and Booth had been out on a case most of the morning. Some remains had been found in the stockroom of a warehouse. They had clearly been moved, but so far there were no clear leads as to why, or by whom. Bones had completed her preliminary exam and was overseeing the collection of evidence and its retrieval back to the Jeffersonian. Booth had completed his investigation of the scene and was trying to convince his stomach to wait more quietly for its lunch.

"All good to go," Bones announced. "Wanna grab some lunch on the way back to the office?"

"You read my mind," Booth replied.

"Actually I heard your stomach," Bones laughed in response.

They asked one of local officers where the best place would be to grab a bite and quickly made their way to Booth's truck. Before long they were sitting in a quiet diner, enjoying the masses of food sitting before them.

Bones reached across and stole a chip from Booth's plate. "Hey, that's mine," he chastised. "If you wanted fries you should have ordered some."

"I didn't want that many," she told him. "And besides, I think you have enough to share."

"But what if I don't want to share?"

She poked her tongue out at him and stole another chip from his plate. There was something about being out of the office and on a case with Booth that always managed to lift her spirits. They continued to laugh and make idle chatter until the plates were bare. "This one is on me," Booth told her, "You're turn next time." He went up to the counter to pay as they made their way towards the door.

As he pulled his wallet out of his pocket two scraps of paper came with it, falling to the floor. He turned to pick them up as Bones reached down to grab them also and they nearly collided in the process. Booth grabbed Bones shoulder to steady himself, as she picked up the pieces of paper, both laughing at their clumsiness.

"That'll be $19.80," the waitress interrupted them with a smile. "When you lovebirds are ready."

"Oh no, it's not like that"

"No, we are just partners," Booth finished.

The waitress said nothing but gave them a knowing smile and shook her head to herself as they left.

Once out in the street Bones handed Booth the scraps of paper that had fallen. The gentle brush of Booths hand as he took them from her causing a warm tingling across her hand. She told herself off for being silly and tried to regain her composure as they walked back towards the car.

Booth took the pieces of paper back from Brennan and now looked at them for the first time. The first piece revealed the name of his Kris Kringle and bought a smile to his face. He had to buy a gift for Bones. He could have some fun with that. He moved his attention to the second piece of paper and stopped abruptly in his tracks. He needed to have words with Angela. If she thought for one minute that she was going to get away with this then she had clearly never messed with Seeley Booth before.

Bones noticed that he had stopped moving and turned to look at him. The combination of the look on his face and the piece of paper in his hands quickly helped her to see what the problem was.

"Angela's challenge?" she asked.

"Angela's challenge he confirmed. And if she thinks I am going to go along with this she has another thing coming."

"I know how you feel. I had the same reaction to mine. I think she has spent most of the morning trying to convince people to go along with her schemes."

"She has?" Booth was confused, not about Angela's need to talk people into participating. If his scrap of paper was anything to go by that didn't surprise him at all. Something else was bothering him. Something he couldn't quite put a finger on.

"Yes, said Bones. I think Hodgins was the only person that actually seemed to be looking forward to playing this little game she has devised."

Suddenly it hit Booth. "But we left the office soon after she made me choose my challenge. She wouldn't have had time to get everyone else to choose."

"She had been at it all morning," Bones assured him. Not seeing the significance of what he was saying. "I think you were the last person to get to choose."

"But if I was the last person to choose, why were there six pieces of paper in the envelope for me to choose from?" Booth was starting to form a pretty good idea of what had transpired.

"Perhaps she had planned more challenges than she needed in order to provide a greater range of possible scenarios?"

Booth was far from convinced. "That may be true for the challenges. But it doesn't explain the Kris Kringle. I am assuming that you all selected yours earlier in the day also?"

"Yes," Bones confirmed. She had spent a good part of the morning trying to establish who had picked her name from the envelope, so she was quite sure of this.

"Then that woman is trying to put one over me. Trying to make me think that the cards I picked were chance when she had the whole thing planned from the start."

"But if there were six pieces of paper in there she could not have been able to predetermine the one you would be able to chose in order to ensure that you selected her desired challenge?" Bones still hadn't caught on to what he was saying.

"She didn't have to," he growled. "I'll put good money on the fact that every one of those little scraps of paper said exactly the same thing. She knew exactly what she was challenging me to do."

They had made it back to the truck and the journey back to the lab began in silence. Both parties were deep in thought. It was Bones who eventually broke the silence. "I suspect Angela may have taken steps to ensure I selected the person and challenge that she wished me to also. At the time I attributed the humour she found in my reading my challenge down to the fact that she had written all of the challenges, but there was a distinct lack of surprise exhibited when I told her which one I had selected."

"I can believe it." Booths brow was still deeply furrowed. "I think it is beyond doubt that she is using this occasion as an attempt to push the two of us together. The question is, what do we do about it." _And what do we want to do about it?_ his subconscious added silently.

"We could cancel on her. I have no doubt that she would be disappointed, but it is still far enough prior to the scheduled even for her to make alternate arrangements that do not include us." There was a part of her was desperately hoping that he didn't like this option however.

"We could," he conceded, "And it certainly would ruin her little plan. But it won't stop her from pulling another stunt like this. Maybe we should just confront her?"

"I agree with your sentiment, but from experience I find that this approach is unlikely to be of success with Angela. I have repeatedly asked her not to attempt to create relationships for me, but she chooses to persist anyway."

"Yeah, but I am guessing you have never threatened to shoot her."

"You are going to shoot Angela?"

"No, I am going to threaten her to leave me out of any future stunts like this or otherwise I will shoot her."

Bones looked unconvinced.

"Have you got a better idea?" he asked.

"Not is a complete form no. But I was pondering whether or not it would be possible to somehow reverse the holder of power in this scenario. Maybe if she was to see how unsuccessful her plan was as a result it may act as a deterrent from her attempting such measures in the future."

"Okay," said Booth. "But how exactly are we going to wrestle control of the situation?"

"I wasn't suggesting that we resort to physical means of…"

"It is a saying Bones. I meant how are we going to pull this off."

"Oh, well I haven't thought things through that far yet."

"Well I have to get back to my office and get some things done. Maybe we can get together tonight and work out a plan of attack? I can grab some take-out and drop by your place about seven?"

"That works for me. And until then we will just let Angela think that she is in control of the situation."

"Absolutely," Booth agreed. "The longer that she thinks she is calling the shots the less likely she is to change the game on us."

Bones looked at him, confused by his analogy. "Yes, we will play along," he rephrased for her, laughing. "I will see you tonight."

Bones agreed with a smile and made her way back to her office. She was looking forward to it already.

* * *

Later that evening they sat on the couch at her house. Booth had a beer in his hand, Bones a glass of wine, the remnants of takeaway scattered on the coffee table in front of them.

"What if we were to lead her to suspect her plan was working, raising her hopes, before telling her that it was all an act and that we knew what she had been planning all along?" she suggested.

"You want us to pretend that we are hooking up?" _Had he just heard her correctly?_

"It wouldn't be the first time we had posed as a couple. We have posed undercover as a couple on several occasions."

Yes, he had heard her correctly. She was suggesting they pretend to get together. Let Angela think her attempts at matchmaking were succeeding.

"But these are our friends. They are not total strangers. And we won't be using characters. We would be us. Bones and Booth, not Buck and Wanda."

"I fail to see how that makes things any different. The premise is still the same."

But this would be different. Very different. He knew that. "Don't do it!" his head was warning him loud and clear. A smaller, quieter part of him was thinking that maybe this could be a bit of fun. To sit and chat to their friends while snuggled up with 'his Bones'. To be allowed to hug her, to plant a kiss on her lips. "Get a grip Seeley." He tried to silence this nagging little voice in his head. She was his partner, and this was a bad idea. The nagging voice was persistent however, and even though he silently cursed himself for going along with it, he agreed to her plan. They would go to the party 'undercover' and let Angela think her little plan was working.

He wished Bones goodnight and made his way to his truck. His head was a mess. He was going to regret this. He was sure. But he was also looking forward to it. And that scared him more than what they were planning to do.

* * *

**TBC**

**So, did you pick the twist? Think you know what is going to happen next? Post a review for me and let me know. Please?**


	5. Chapter 5

**Still with me on this little journey? Thought I would be kind to you and move things along a little faster.**

**This isn't the longest of chapters, but if my munchkins let me I will try to have another chapter up by the end of the day.**

* * *

Chapter 5

* * *

The weekend had passed by uneventfully and the working week was now in full swing. Everyone was caught up with their respective responsibilities and little was said about Angela's upcoming party. For Angela herself however it was rarely far from her mind. She had finished planning the food and drinks and had two neat lists written out. One for the liquor store which she would take care of tonight, the other for the grocery store which would have to wait till closer to the night. Only a week and a half to go now. She couldn't resist giving herself a little mental pat on the back for how well she was pulling this off.

She could hardly wait to see the sparks fly on the night. Booth looking super hot in a smart, black suit, Bones looking ravishing in a sexy little number. That reminded her, she needed to drag Bones shopping. Jumping up from her desk she made a beeline for her friend's office.

"Which day is better for our shopping trip?" she asked her, "Saturday or Sunday?"

Bones looked up from what she was doing. "Shopping trip?"

"Yes, shopping trip!" sighed Angela feigning exasperation. "To find you something hot for the party remember. You promised."

"I don't recall entering into any such agreement."

"Brennan," Angela was pouting now. "Please? Come out and have a girl's day with me. Shopping, hot chocolate, I might even let you have a browse in the book store."

Her mind flicking back to the plan she had forged with Booth, Bones decided to play along. A shopping trip with Angela wouldn't be all bad. She enjoyed her friends company, and Angela did have a great eye when it came to clothes. "Saturday would be preferable for me," she conceded.

Angela squealed, "Awesome Sweetie. I will pick you up at eleven. We can hit the shops for a while and then stop for lunch and then see where the afternoon takes us. Thankyou!"

Angela left triumphantly and Bones returned to her work. She couldn't help wondering just what sort of an outfit Angela was plotting to get her into though. Oh well, she had no doubts that she would look hot. Although why in the context of her workmates this was important to her she couldn't quite pinpoint.

* * *

Saturday arrived before they knew it, and true to her word, Angela was at Brennan's house by 11am. Actually she was there ten minutes early, which for Angela was unheard of. She was clearly excited about this expedition.

Bones grabbed her purse and they made their way in the direction of the stores. "Did you want to grab a coffee before we start?" Brennan enquired.

"No, I'm good. Pumped full of caffeine and ready to shop," came the reply.

Based on her behaviour, Brennan certainly wasn't going to dispute her on the caffeine front. "Okay then. Where shall we start?"

"There is a new little dress shop that has opened up that I want to check out. I drove past it the other day and the clothes in the window were hot."

"Lead the way then," Bones consented.

One look at the clothes in the window told Brennan that she was not likely to find anything to her liking in this particular establishment. The manikins were barely decent and they were inanimate objects. She followed Angela inside hoping to convince her quickly that this wasn't what she was looking for.

Angela held up a very strappy, very short red number. "This would look gorgeous on you!" she squealed.

Bones gave her a steely glare. "How about we try to find something that looks more like a dress, and less like underwear."

Angela looked disappointed but continued searching the racks. Dress after dress she held up, and dress after dress she put back again at Brennan's insistence. "Come on Sweetie, you are killing me here," Angela wined.

"I find it highly improbable that my refusal to try on indecent dresses is having such an effect on your wellbeing," came the response.

"Well dress shopping works so much better when you actually try on dresses," Angela insisted.

"Then how about we leave this establishment and go in search of somewhere that sells garments that can actually be classified as dresses?"

Angela conceded and they made there way to a different store. The apparel on offer was much more to Brennan's liking and she offered several suggestions, all of which were knocked back by Angela. They were nice enough. But they all seemed to be lacking the 'wow' factor that Angela was hoping for.

Bones was trying to play nice with her friend, but she was clearly getting frustrated by her efforts, so she suggested they take a break and stop for lunch before looking further in the afternoon. Angela agreed to this plan and they walked in the direction of the food court.

After lunch they were making their way back in the direction of the shops when they noticed Hodgins approaching in the other direction. Rather than continuing in their direction and saying hello however Hodgins quickly ducked down the lane way between two of the buildings and had disappeared completely by the time they drew level with it.

"Well that was odd," Angela observed.

"I thought that yourself and Dr Hodgins had recovered from your failed relationship and were once again functioning satisfactorily in your professional relationship."

"Brennan! Could you be a bit less clinical? We are real people." Angela chastised her friend. After some further thought however she continued in a more gentle tone. "I thought so to. We seemed to be getting on so much better lately. Things were almost back to the way they used to be."

Angela had no idea what to make of his behaviour. She replayed it over and over in her mind, trying to work out what had just happened. Was he with someone that he didn't want her to see? Had he met someone new? Was he doing something else that he didn't want to get caught doing? Something illegal? No, not Jack. He was a good man, that much she was sure of.

"Things are rarely able to return to a purely platonic relationship once…"

Angela silenced her with a deadly glare. "We are not having this discussion. Now let's go and find you a dress."

Brennan was tempted to remind Angela of the number of times she had pushed her into discussing things that Bones would have rather left unsaid, but the look on her face made her think twice of this and instead she turned her attention back to the task at hand.

"How about that shop," she suggested, pointing to a small boutique they had not yet looked in.

Angela nodded, still clearly distracted.

They wandered around the center of the store, finding nothing mutually agreeable, before starting at opposing ends of a long rack along the wall. Fast approaching the middle of the rack Angela was about to suggest giving up for the day when both ladies reached simultaneously for the same dress. Surprised to have finally found some common ground, Angela stepped back as Bones took the dress off the rack and held it up to her chest.

"I think we just found our dress!" Angela beamed. "Go march the hot ass of yours into the change room and try it on this instant."

Bones laughed. Glad to see her friend returning to her more typical, upbeat mindset. She gestured to the sales assistant who unlocked one of the small change rooms for her. She slipped out of what she was wearing and into the dress, observing her appearance in the mirror. It seemed satisfactorily complimentary, and unlike many of the others Angela had taken a liking to, this one was sexy without being obscene. This should do nicely.

Stepping out of the change to let Angela have a look she was met by a loud squeal from her friend, drawing the attention of sales assistant as well as the other customers in the store. "Hell yes! That is HOT! Buy it, buy it now!"

"I take it you approve," Bones laughed. "Of course I won't be able to wear these underpants with it," she stated, noticing the fall of the dress of her backside was making the line of her panties very obvious.

Angela chuckled, "Well that won't be an issue seeming as though you will not be wearing underwear with it."

"I have not agreed to partake in that challenge," Bones reminded her.

"But you will. I know you will. No way are you going to miss out on a surprise present." Angela laughed at her friend.

Bones shook her head at her friend. "I can be very stubborn when I want to be."

"I am well aware of that Sweetie, believe me. But I know you. Now, hurry up and get dressed so we can go buy that gorgeous gown. Then, I think we have earned a coffee."

Bones laughed and obliged, and before long they were sitting down, chatting and laughing as they sipped their drinks. Try as she might though, Angela could not let herself completely relax. Her mind kept going back to Hodgins. She was sure that he had seen them. So why did he act the way he did?

* * *

**TBC**

**Anyone sense a party getting closer? Maybe I should make you wait a bit longer for it? Yes? No? Drop me a line and let me know!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay, I know I may have alluded to the fact there was a party coming soon. It is coming soon, I promise. Just not in this chapter. There were a few other things that were just crying out to be written before we got that far. I hope you will think it is worth it. I certainly enjoyed writing this chapter!**

* * *

Chapter 6

* * *

The light peeking in between the gap of the curtains caused Booth to stir. He rubbed his eyes, he finally opening them and letting them adjust to the light. He attempted to roll back onto his back, in search of a more comfortable position, but found and obstacle in the way. Something, or rather someone was blocking his path. A wave of realisation flooded over him about the night before and he rolled over carefully, waking his companion up with a good tickling.

"Dad!" The little boy squealed as he squirmed around next to Booth.

"Wakey Wakey Parker. Time we got up and started moving."

It was Booth's weekend to look after his son, and evening before the eight year old had pulled out every trick in the book in an attempt to delay bedtime. It was too light, it was too dark, just a few more minute, he was cold, he was thirsty, maybe some more cookies would help. In the end, amidst exhaustion on the part of the adult, Booth had suggested his son have a sleep over with him and the little boy had excitedly climbed into the big bed next to his dad and was asleep nearly before his head hit the pillow.

They both climbed out of bed and stumbled out to the kitchen. Booth took two bowls from the cupboard, adding cereal and a generous portion of milk to both.

"What are we going to do today?" the little man asked, mouth full of cereal.

"Parker," Booth chastised gently. You remember the rules. Swallow what is in your mouth before you talk please."

"Sorry Dad," said Parker, swallowing quickly. "What're we gonna do today?"

"I thought you might like to come to the shops with me and help me pick out a present for Dr Brennan."

"Is it her birthday?"

"Nope, not for her birthday. Just for a surprise. So no spilling the beans if we see her okay?" Maybe trusting an eight year old with a secret wasn't the greatest idea, but Parker was unlikely to cross paths with Bones prior to the party, so he figured he should be safe.

"Okay," Parker replied, deep in thought. "Daddy is Dr Bones your girlfriend now?"

"No Kiddo, we are just friends," he responded, ruffling his son's hair.

"Oh. When is she going to be your girlfriend?

Booth considered the best way of handling this question, quickly downing his coffee and willing it to help him start thinking clearer. "What makes you think that she should be my girlfriend kiddo?"

"Well she is super nice. And you like her don't you? And she likes you? So she should be your girlfriend. Mum has a boyfriend. He's okay, but I like Dr Bones better."

Booth laughed. Now he was getting relationship advice from his eight year old. Had he been single for that long? "Well sorry to disappoint you, but we are just friends. Now finish your breakfast so we can hit the shops."

Parker finished the rest of his cereal quickly and the Booth men were soon on the road. "So what do you think we should get for Bones?" he asked his son.

"A ring," Parker responded.

"A ring?" Booth questioned nervously. He thought they had moved on from this conversation.

"Yeah," Parker insisted. "Women love jewellery."

Booth chuckled. Okay, that logic he could handle. "How about some earrings?"

"That'll work," his son agreed.

"Looks like we are heading for the jewellery store then kiddo."

They made their way to the store and together they picked out a pair of delicate silver drop earrings with small blue aquamarines at the end. Booth paid the clerk for them and placed the small box into his pocket.

"Nice work Parker. Now we have that taken care of, how about we go get us some lunch?"

There were no arguments at this suggestion for the boy who looked up at his father pleadingly. "Can I have a milkshake?"

"Only if you promise me to finish your food and not just drink the shake."

"Deal," said Parker, reaching out a small hand to shake his Dad's.

Booth laughed and closed his hands around his son's in a firm but gentle handshake. Turning his attention back to the path in front of him he noticed Bones heading towards them. Parker had noticed too and raced towards her.

"Dr Bones," he squealed, throwing his arms around her waist in a bear hug.

Bones gave him a hug back. "Hey Parker. What are you boys up to today?" She raised her eyes to the boy's father and greeted him with a smile.

"We have been shopping," Parker told her proudly, keeping the nature of their shopping trip a surprise, much to Booth's relief. "And no we are going to get milkshakes. Wanna join us?"

"I'd love to Parker, but I have to run some errands I am sorry. Maybe another time?"

Parker looked disappointed.

"How about next time you are at my house we have Bones over for a games night?" his Dad suggested.

"That sounds lovely," Bones agreed.

"Only if I get to pick the games," Parker insisted.

Booth was going to remind him to share when Brennan interrupted, "I think I can handle that. I look forward to the challenge. I will see you then."

"Before you go," Booth caught her eye, "I was wondering if it would be okay for me to pop over later tonight so we can have a chat about next weekend? I'll bring take-out. Okay if I swing by about seven?"

"Sounds good," Bones replied. "It's a date." She smiled and began to walkway, but was not yet out of earshot when she heard Parkers next question.

"So NOW is Dr Bones your girlfriend?"

Booth cringed. Trust Bones to choose that moment to try and show off her increasing vocabulary. "No Parker," he insisted. "We are just good friends."

"But Bones just said you were having a date tonight?"

'It's not really a date Parker. That is just a saying."

Parker looked confused, and Booth knew it was going to be a long 4 hours before he dropped the boy back to his Mother's house.

Brennan laughed to herself, but she continued walking rather than turning around. She would let Booth handle that line of questioning and she could ask him about it when she saw him later that night.

She had returned to the shops in search of a present for Booth, but she was at a loss as to what to get for him. Socks seemed to boring, boxer shorts to personal, a coffee mug or a tie too impersonal. She was wandering aimlessly, taking in the stores around her, hoping that inspiration would find her. She wanted to the gift to be perfect. Something that he would like, and use. Something Boothey.

She walked past store after store, becoming quite disheartened at her lack of progress. This was crazy. She had known Booth for years and bought him numerous birthday gifts and Christmas presents. Why was this one so different? Why was it so important to her that she get him the perfect gift?

Maybe she was looking at this all wrong. She stopped looking at all the options around her and started instead to focus her attention on Booth. She grabbed a hot chocolate and sat down to think about him. What he liked, what was important to him. Then it hit her, the perfect present idea. A big grin spread over her face. He was going to love it.

* * *

Right on seven o'clock the sound of Booth's knock startled Bones back to reality. She had been working on her latest book and was making excellent progress, but had lost track of time completely. She had been planning on having a shower and freshening up before Booth arrived but since he was already at her door that was no longer an option.

Booth greeted her with a look of surprise when she opened the door. He wasn't used to seeing her dressed so casually. She was wearing gym pants and a loose t-shirt, her hair still looking slightly windblown from her outing earlier in the day. "Did you forget I was coming?" he asked.

"No, sorry, I didn't forget. I just got caught up in what I was doing and lost track of time. I look like a mess I know. Grab a seat and I will jump under the shower quickly and get myself feeling a bit more human before I join you." She gestured towards the couch as she spoke, making her way to her laptop and turning it off before moving towards the passage. "Don't eat all the food before I get back. It smells fantastic!"

"You had better hurry then," Booth teased, regaining his ability to speak. He had never seen his partner looking quite so radiant. She had obviously been pleased with the progress she was making, and combined with the casual gym wear and the messy hair, well it just worked for her. _"Snap out of it Seeley," _he reminded himself, _"This isn't a date. You are just friends. She is your partner…"_

Taking the threat of there being no food left seriously, Bones quickly went about rinsing off under the shower before throwing on some jeans and a blouse and re-emerging, her hair still damp from the shower. Booth glanced up as she re-entered the room and plonked herself down on the couch next to him, grabbing a fork and digging in immediately. If he had thought she looked good before, this was a whole level above. Flushed cheeks from hurrying, damp hair, and that smell, oh boy he could get lost it that. _"Get a grip Seeley. This is Bones you are staring at." _Oh shit, he was staring at her. He closed his mouth and turned his attention intently to his food and prayed to every Saint he could think of that she hadn't noticed.

Bones sensed that he was staring at her but was unsure as to why. Booth was acting oddly this evening. She waited for him to say something but when he didn't she looked up at him. He was now busying himself with his food but she though she could perceive a feint blush across his cheeks. Deciding to open the conversation she decided to try and lighten the mood. "I heard Parker giving you relationship advice this morning."

Booth's blush deepened. "Um, yeah. Crazy kid. I was hoping you didn't hear that."

Bones laughed. "I think it is sweet."

Booth looked at her bemused. He wasn't entirely sure what she was saying.

"He wants you to be happy," she continued.

"Yeah, I guess," Booth replied. "I just thought that I had a few more years to saver before the awkward questions started."

"He is a smart kid Booth. I am sure that won't be the last time he put you on the spot."

"_You can say that again," _Booth thought to himself, but instead he changed the subject to the issue that had brought him over to her house. "So how exactly are we going to work things on Saturday night?"

"I was thinking that we would just play along with whatever Angela has planned and see where it takes us. Let her think that her plan is succeeding. Then at some point we tell her that it is all a rouse and we have been wise to her all along."

"Okay, but how far do we take this? I not entirely sure how we are supposed to go about selling this to her. This isn't like one of our undercover cases where we just walk in and spout false names and tell them that we are together. That won't work with our friends. Are we pretending that we have already hooked up? Or trying to make her think we are hooking up on the night? Or are we just going along with her challenges but nothing more than that?"

Bones pondered the alternatives. "I think we need to make it look like things are happening on the night, not before hand. The purpose of the operation is to let Angela assume that her plan is working and let her feel responsible for us becoming a couple as opposed to us arriving at that conclusion by our own means. So in order to execute our plan successfully we would need to go along with any suggestion made by her and follow in the direction that it leads."

"So we arrive alone, as usual. Bones and Booth, just partners. But we go along with Angela's crazy scheming and let her think she is pushing us together?"

"That sounds appropriate to me, yes."

Appropriate wasn't really a word Booth would have chosen to describe the plan. Stupid perhaps. Risky even. Appropriate no. "And you are okay with me kissing you in order to pull this off? Because the challenge that I have from Angela is to kiss a member of the opposite sex that is present at the party. And I am not sure that me kissing Cam or Angela is going to help with our performance."

Bones reddened. Not at the thought of kissing Booth as he assumed when he saw her colour rise, but more at the feelings that arose from the thought of having him kiss one of the other women. 'Just partners' or otherwise she still didn't want that happening. "Absolutely," she agreed finally. "We definitely can't have you kissing anyone else. Besides, they might enjoy it too much." She shot him a teasing grin.

"Are you suggesting that you wouldn't enjoy it Bones," he asked with a mock pout.

She laughed, "I didn't say that." Her eyes were sparkling and she shot him another teasing grin.

Oh God, she wasn't going to make this easy for him was she. _"Stop it Seeley. Get it together," _He pleaded with himself in his head, drawing his mind back away from the images of crushing his mouth against hers in a passionate embrace that had formed in his head. Parker may have a point. He needed to find himself a girlfriend. "So I am allowed to kiss you then? And from there, we just see where Angela's lead takes us? But you are okay with me being physical."

"I am sure that the extent of Angela's plans do not extend to watching us consummate the relationship," Bones replied casually.

Great, more visuals he wasn't going to get out of his head any time soon. _"Time to call it a night Seeley, and get out of here fast." _His face bright red he somehow managed to form sentences. "That isn't what I meant. I was referring to things like hugging you, or putting my arm around your shoulders."

"Ah," Bones replied. "I see. I have no objections to that."

"Okay then. Well I think we have our plan set. I am going to call it a night. Talk to you Monday." He was off the couch and already half way to the door before he had finished his statement.

"Talk to you Monday." Bones agreed, letting him out and securing the door behind him. She was left confused. They had been having a good time she thought, up until his abrupt exit. Had she done or said the wrong thing? She hoped not. She enjoyed his company. And it wasn't particularly late. Did he have somewhere else to be perhaps? With someone else? He had dated before and she had been happy for him. Yet for some reason the thought of his rushing off to see another women was arousing a strange sensation in her. Feelings that if she was honest with herself would probably be considered jealousy. But she couldn't be jealous could she? He was her partner after all.

* * *

**TBC**

**Sorry for the delay in posting this one. Real life got busy (damn it). Drop me a line and let me know what you thought. Where you ready to kill me after the first few lines? Worth it in the end?**


	7. Chapter 7

**Thankyou for coming on this little journey with me. Hope you are enjoying it!**

* * *

Chapter 7

* * *

It was now Thursday morning and Jack had been trying to speak to Angela since Monday. Was she avoiding him? He couldn't think of any reason why she would be, but she always seemed to be rushing off to do something or be somewhere whenever he found himself in the same room as her. If he called her on it she would probably just laugh at him and tell him he was being paranoid again. Maybe he was. He couldn't think straight when it came to her at the moment. He couldn't seem to get her off of his mind.

He spotted Dr Brennan going into her office and decided to use it as an opportunity to corner Ange himself. He made his way towards the door of her office, staying just out of sight until Brennan exited before stepping in and making his presence known.

"Hey Ange, how's it going," he greeted her.

She glanced up, lacking the usual sparkle in her eye, and responded in a very business like manner. "It's pretty hectic at the moment Jack. How can I help you?"

"I just wanted to touch base with you about Saturday night. To check what time you wanted to come around Saturday and see if you needed me to do anything to help? You are welcome to come over for dinner Friday night if you wanted and we can get a head start on things?"

Angela's body language relaxed slightly, but she was still clearly not herself. "I might drop some drinks over and put them in the fridge Friday night if that is okay. I won't stay for dinner though, I am sure you have better things to do, especially since you are giving up your night on Saturday."

"It really isn't a problem Ange," he assured her. "And I am not giving up my Saturday. Actually I am really looking forward to it." He gave her a smile but she did not return it and he was struggling to get a read on what was going on. "Is everything okay Ange?" he asked her.

"I'm fine," she told him shortly, "Just busy Jack.

He was far from convinced, but knew better than to push her further. "Okay. Well you know where to find me if there is anything I can do." He left her office and made his way back to his own, more confused than when he arrived.

Angela remained at her desk and let her head fall to her hands. This was killing her. Even though they had mutually agreed to go their own way, the thought of him with someone else was too much to bear. She thought that she had moved on, but the thought of him doing the same was crushing her. He hadn't said anything about a new relationship, nor had she actually seen him with anyone for certain, but she had convinced herself that this was the only logical explanation for his behaviour the previous weekend. He still cared about her enough not to spring it on her and rub her face in it, but he had met someone.

She turned her attention to box in the corner of her office instead. Trying to distract herself from the wave of emotion that had struck. The box was slowing filling with the Kris Kringle gifts for Saturday night. Digging through the four gifts now in the box, she read the names on the tags. Hers and Hodgins were missing. The fact that Sweets had not dropped of the gift for Hodgins yet was not surprising. She didn't recall having seen him at the Jeffersonian so far that week. Sadly whoever had her name, either Cam or Hodgins, hadn't added hers to the box yet. Maybe they knew she wouldn't be able to resist peeking. Maybe they were still hunting for the perfect gift. Or maybe it was Hodgins and he was just too distracted by his new woman to think about shopping for something for her.

Realizing that this was not providing adequate distraction she made her way to Brennan's office instead. "Wanna grab a coffee Sweetie? Make it an early lunchbreak?"

Brennan saw the pleading look in her eye and didn't argue. "Sure Ange," she replied, standing up and grabbing her purse.

Before long the two friends were sitting, sipping their drinks. Angela was unusually quiet. "Has something happened Angela?" Brennan asked, her concern growing.

"No," Angela replied. She looked up and saw the questioning look in Brennan's eyes. "Yes. Maybe. I don't know sweetie." A single tear slipped from her eye and ran down her cheek.

"Is it something medical?" Brennan asked, unsure as to what had brought on this break in her friends normally happy, carefree disposition.

"No, nothing like that." Angela sighed.

"Then what is it about?" Brennan pushed, feeling very inapt at dealing with her clearly upset friend.

Angela sighed again. "It's Jack."

"Is something wrong with him?" Brennan asked. "I had not perceived any change in either his physical or emotional state to lead me to believe he had a problem."

Angela shook her head, "That isn't the issue."

"I thought you stated it was Jack that had the problem."

"No," Angela replied, "Jack is the problem."

"Does this pertain to your failed relationship, or has their been a new complication that has arisen between the two of you?"

"I think he has a new girlfriend."

"And this is causing you emotional distress?" Brennan asked her.

Angela nodded, another tear escaping from her eye. "I think I made a terrible mistake when I let him go."

"Does Hodgins know that you feel this way?"

"No, and please don't tell him. It isn't fair of me to throw this on him.

Not when he is happy and has moved on."

Brennan was confused again. "But surely it would be easier for you if you just told him how you felt. Wouldn't this make it easier for you to adjust to the new dynamics of your relationship and move on?"

Angela shook her head. "I don't want to move on. But I have to. I will be okay. I just need to get my mind off of this and find someone for myself. I've been single for too long."

* * *

Angela and Dr Brennan heading out to lunch had not gone unnoticed by Hodgins. Evidently it was only him that Angela was too busy for. He knew that he was being unreasonable. He had relinquished any claim he had over her when they chose to go their separate ways rather than getting married. It had taken them time to move on beyond this, but lately things had really been feeling more positive. The banter and smiles were returning. They were enjoying each others company. She had been comfortable enough to ask to use his house to host her party. He had dared to hope again, but now he wasn't so sure.

He fingered the small package sitting on the desk in front of him. Angela's Kris Kringle gift. He had spent hours agonising over what to get for her. Eventually he had decided to go out on a limb, to take a chance. Now he was wondering if he should scrap the whole idea and just grab her a photo frame or some other generic knick-knack instead. He slipped the box back into the drawer he had taken it out of. He would decide what to do later about it later.

* * *

Angela and Brennan had finished their drinks and the conversation had moved to lighter topics.

"That dress is going to look superb on you Saturday night," Angela told her friend. "And I bet Booth is going to look hot as well."

"He wears a suit for work Angela. I fail to see how there will be a significant alteration in his appearance."

"I am not saying he isn't easy on the eye. He is always perv worthy I agree with you there. If it were me working so closely with him I would be spending a good part of my day with my eyes fixed on his ass. But I bet he manages to take it up a notch just the same."

"While I agree with you that his symmetry is attractive and the definition of his muscles is easy on they eye, I assure you it does not detract from my work in any way."

Angela laughed at her friend. "Well if it doesn't detract from your work I see no reason not to have a good stare." She winked at her friend.

"Ange," Brennan whined. "It isn't like that."

"Well it should be," Angela assured her.

* * *

**TBC**

**Another short chapter I know, but it seemed like the most appropriate place to leave it. The next chapter should be a good one to make up for it.**

**Please drop me a line to let me know how you are finding things so far.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Another chapter for you. Not the one you are probably hanging out for, but I hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

Chapter 8

* * *

The doorbell rang and Hodgins made his way to the door to let Angela in. Hopefully the fact that the working week was over would have brightened her mood somewhat. She had seemingly continued to ignore him since he cornered her in the office, responding shortly when required and avoiding him as much as possible.

Opening the door he was met by the sight of Angela piled high with bags and boxes. He laughed. She certainly never did things by halves. "Here, let me help with some of that," he offered, taking the top two boxes from her stack and carrying them in to the table. "Is there more in the car? Or was that all of it?"

"There are few more boxes in the car," she told him, adding the bags she was carrying to the pile on the table before turning to return to the car.

He followed her to her vehicle and found the boot loaded with more bags and boxes. "The neighbours are going to think you are moving in," he chuckled.

She smiled sheepishly. "Sorry," she said.

"It isn't a problem," he assured her. "I knew what I would be getting myself into when I agree to help you with your party."

They loaded up the rest of the stuff and took that inside as well. Angela starting sorting the drinks from the pile and they managed to arrange them all in the fridge with a bit of creative stacking.

"Good thing I have a big fridge."

"Yeah, I always did love your fridge," she told him teasingly.

"That wasn't the only thing you used to love about me," he couldn't help telling her with a cheeky grin spreading across his face. This was more like Angela. "Now, are you sure I can't persuade you to stay for some of my famous spaghetti bolognaise, and I can give you a hand with the decorations after dinner?"

She shook her head. "That's okay. I'll get out the way and let you enjoy your evening. I'll just get here earlier tomorrow afternoon and take care of it then if that's okay?"

"It's really fine," he assured her. "I am sure I can manage to have some fun even with you here."

But this time she didn't return the jest. "I'll see you tomorrow," she told him, making her way towards the door and letting herself out.

Hodgins walked to the lounge and flopped onto his sofa. She was pushing him away. He had hoped that things were going in a different direction, but clearly she was trying to tell him to move on. He sighed turned on the television to settle in for a night of channel surfing. At least he had decided against going with his original present idea. That would not have turned out the way he hoped.

* * *

Saturday morning dawned bright and clear and Booth was enjoying a lay in when he was jolted from his dreams by the sound of his cell.

"Booth," he grunted. "Okay. Yes. Got it. We will be right there."

Hanging up he dialled Bones number. "We've got a case," he told her. "Pick you up in 30 minutes.

Bones crawled out of bed and headed in the direction of a nice hot shower. Once she was feeling a little more human she dried off and was about to step into a pair of fresh underpants when she remembered Angela's challenge. Weighing up her options she considered ignoring Angela's challenge. She could always go to the party later sans underwear and claim to have been that way for the whole day. After a moment pondering however she decided to play along. Angela had a way of reading her friend and was likely to guess the truth, and Bones didn't want to risk missing out on her present.

She stood in front of her closet, looking at the options in front of her and trying to establish what would best conceal her lack of undergarments, eventually choosing to layer a fitted blouse with a textured vest over the top. Selecting a pair of dark blue pants to go with it, she finished dressing and put on her shoes before making her way to the kitchen to grab a bite to eat before they hit the road.

The coffee had just finished brewing and she was pouring it into two travel mugs when she heard Booth's knock at the door. Securing the lids on the mugs, she grabbed her purse and let herself out of the apartment, handing one of the mugs to Booth as she greeted him on the way out. "Lead the way," she told him.

They made their way to the vehicle as Booth brought her up to speed. Remains had been found in an area of national park not to far away. Some teenagers camping in the area had been wandering off the marked path and stumbled upon a body. The report he had from the attending officer was that there was a single body that appeared to have been largely devoured by wildlife, but had no immediately obvious signs of foul play.

"If there are no signs of foul play then why are we racing there so early on a Saturday morning?" she asked him. "Couldn't they have just batched up the remains and transported them to the Jeffersonian for me to analyse on Monday morning?"

Booth chuckled, "And bear the wrath of you for not doing things properly and contaminating your evidence? Not likely. Cause of death is unknown so they have to presume it is sinister until we prove otherwise. And since it is basically only the bones that are left, they called us. They are just following protocol. Hopefully we can get this wrapped up quickly and then maybe go and find ourselves a nice big lunch."

His stomach rumbled at the mention of food. "Booth did you leave the house without stopping for breakfast again? You really should have grabbed something to eat. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day in order to ensure that your body is functioning at its greatest capacity."

Booth shrugged, "I was in a hurry to get on the road. I wanted to get this over and done with as soon as possible. Not willing to risk the wrath of Angela if we are late for her party."

Bones chuckled, "I see your point there. If this case suddenly causes us to need to dash out of town or camp out overnight on a stakeout, you get to break the news to her."

"Why me?" Booth asked in mock horror. "I thought we were partners, but here you are ready to throw me into the line of fire to save yourself."

"Not scared of a girl are you Booth," she teased.

"Never," he retorted. "But a mad, party crazed Angela is a whole other matter."

The both laughed and the drive continued in comfortable silence for a while, Booth concentrating on the road and Bones taking in the scenery around her.

"So are you all set for the party tonight," he asked her after a while.

"I should be," she replied. "Angela helped me to select a dress that should be satisfactory and I have already placed the gift for my Kris Kringle into the receptacle in Angela's office. So apart from freshening up I believe things are under control."

"And you are still okay with me kissing you?" he asked. He was looking forward to his challenge in spite of himself and hoped she hadn't changed her mind, but he needed to make sure she was still comfortable with the plan.

"I have no objections to that," she assured him. "It isn't like we haven't kissed before."

He laughed, remembering their kiss under the mistletoe last Christmas that came about as a result of a little bit of blackmailing from his puckish boss when Bones had gone to her for a favour. She had dismissed it as being like kissing her brother, but he had felt a spark, that was for sure. He still revisited that kiss in his dreams. _"Snap out of it Seeley,"_ he reminded himself yet again.

"And how about your challenge?" he asked her. "Have you got that under control or is it something you need my help with?"

The thought of him assisting her out of her underwear came to mind and she reddened unconsciously. "My challenge was not to wear any underwear today, so I should be able to manage that without needing assistance."

His face coloured at the thought of her at the party with nothing on under her dress, and arriving at the scene he pulled in and pulled the car to a stop with a jolt.

Bones laughed at his reaction. "Does the thought of me sitting next to you with no panties on embarrass you Booth?" she couldn't help but tease.

Shit, he was having enough trouble with the thought of her not wearing any underwear tonight. Was she suggesting that she wasn't wearing any now? He turned to face her but she was already exiting the vehicle and he couldn't help but find his eyes drawn to her gorgeous backside. There were certainly no visible indications to suggest otherwise.

Turning to face him she asked, "Are you coming Booth. Or are you too busy staring?"

Booth opened his mouth to respond, but no words formed. He closed it again, turning away and taking a long slow breath before exiting the vehicle. This was going to be a long day.

He introduced them both to the attending officer who led them to the scene. "This whole area is pretty isolated," he told them. "Most people who come tend to stick to the camping area down along the creek. Had some kids in here last night though, making a ruckus and one hell of a mess. The were stumbling around with torches when one of them tripped over a rock and came face to face with more than they bargained for."

They had reached the remains and Brennan leaned over to examine them more closely. Booth couldn't help but feel his eyes drift back towards her ass. He forced his mind back to the present as the officer continued.

"The guy's wallet and keys were on the body so it doesn't look like it was a robbery gone bad. The kids that found it are over there if you want to see if you can get any sense out of them." He gestured to a group of three teenage boys sitting on a fallen log, another officer standing with them.

He approached the group of clearly inebriated youths who had just become aware of the presence of his partner and had begun making catcalls and whistling as though they had never seen a human female before.

Booth gave them a menacing glare. "Unless you boys fancy a night in the lockup I suggest you pull yourselves together right now."

"Chill dude," one of them told him, "We are just saying she is hot. Nothing wrong with admiring the scenery."

Booth shot him another glare.

"Alright, alright. Get a grip man. With a rack like that you should be used to people staring at your girlfriend."

"_Please give me the strength not to shoot this moron?"_ Booth pleaded to the heavens as he tried to gather useful information from the trio.

Once the statements were gathered and contact details collected he asked the officer to escort them back to their vehicles and ensure that they left the scene before turning his attention back to Bones.

"Caucasian male of approximately 40 years of age," she told him. "No obvious signs of foul play. The femoral length as well as that of the digits leads me to suspect the deceased suffered from Marfan's syndrome. This condition is associated with high risk of spontaneous aortic dissection which may have been the cause of death, but I won't be able to confirm this until we get everything back to the lab. I would estimate that the remains have probably been here for around a week and there is nothing to suggest that they were moved post mortem. I am nearly done here, so once I have finished organising everything for transport to the Jeffersonian we should be good to go."

"Nice work Bones," he praised. "Probable natural causes with no sign of foul play sounds to me like it can safely wait until Monday for further investigation. So once you are done there, I declare it time for lunch. We can head to the diner if you want."

Bones laughed. "Sounds good," she agreed. Clearly the sight that lay before them had not been enough to distract him from his desire for food. "I won't be long."

They wrapped up at the sight and returned to his truck, heading back in the direction of home.

"You are awfully quiet," Bones observed of her partner who was staring intently at the road in front of him.

"Just concentrating," he assured her. It was true, he was concentrating, not on anything he was going to admit to however. He was still unable to shake the thought that there was a gorgeous woman sitting beside him, and that she was not wearing any underwear. He was running through the alphabet in his head, the times tables, sporting statistics, anything he could think of to stop the effect she was having on him from displaying itself any more than it already was. He was all too aware of the bulge forming just below the level of the seatbelt and was silently praying that she wouldn't pick up on it.

They continued the journey in silence until it was interrupted by a loud growl from her stomach. Glancing in the direction the noise had come from she couldn't help but notice the fullness in his pants. "Pleasant daydreams?" she asked him.

"Bones," he warned, turning a deep shade of red.

"You have nothing to be embarrassed about," she assured him. "It is a completely natural reaction that could actually be interpreted as a compliment."

"Bones, we are not having this discussion."

"I don't understand your discomfort in discussing a topic that is so central to human behaviour."

He cut her off before she could continue. "Bones, enough. I don't care how natural it may be, or how much a part of human life. We are not talking about it. End of discussion." He didn't know what he had done to deserve this, but someone up there was obviously out to make life hard for him today.

They continued the ride to the dinner in silence before the conversation returned to more casual topics over food. Booth dropped Brennan home once their stomachs were satisfied and went home himself to try and relax a little and clear his head before the evening's festivities. Figuring if the evening was going to be as long as the morning he would want to be well rested, he eventually decided to take a nap in the hope of waking up more refreshed. Flopping heavily onto his bed he was soon drifted off as his minded wandered unchecked, back to the daydreams it had earlier begun.

* * *

**TBC**

**Getting close to party time now – I don't think I will be able to make you wait too much longer.**

**Hope that you are still enjoying the ride! Please take the time to let me know what you think.**


	9. Chapter 9

**I suspect a few of you have been waiting for this chapter. Hope it lives up to your expectations!**

* * *

Chapter 9

* * *

Angela arrived at Jack's mid afternoon with yet another box in her arms. "Munchies," she explained in response to Hodgins raised eyebrows.

Hodgins took the box from her and placed it in the kitchen before returning to the lounge, where Angela had begun rummaging through the boxes of decorations that she had brought over the day before. "What can I do to help?" he asked her.

"It's okay," she assured him. "I can manage. I don't want to make you go to any trouble. You were nice enough to let us invade your house tonight." She turned her attention away from him and continued to busy herself with the decorations.

Hodgins came up behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Ange, please. I want to help. Just tell me what the best way I can go about it is."

Angela tensed up at his touch, her composure faltering. Sensing this, he spun her around towards him, letting his hands remain on her shoulders. "Please Angela," he repeated. "Stop pushing me away and let me help."

The closeness as well as the look in his eyes caused Angela to soften somewhat and she suggested he could make a start on stringing some tinsel around the room. Hodgins readily oblige and together they soon transformed the room into an area that would make Santa's elves feel at home. Angela had even brought over an artificial tree. "It proved a bit too difficult to find a real one at this time of year," she acknowledged. "And we needed something to put the presents under."

"Absolutely," Hodgins agreed flashing her a smile. "It wouldn't be Christmas without a tree." He set about decorating the tree, admiring the collection of ornaments beginning to adorn it. "Your handiwork I am guessing?" he asked, recognising them to be home-made.

Angela nodded. "Most of them are, yes."

Gradually she started to relax and she and Hodgins fell into a more comfortable banter. By the time the first guest arrived, the decorating was complete, a collection of gifts was scattered at the base of the tree and an assortment of refreshments were scattered around the room.

"Would you mind grabbing the door while I go and freshen up quickly," Angela requested, cursing whom ever it was that had dared to turn up on time.

Hodgins obliged and went to see who was at the door.

"Merry Christmas Hodgins," Camille greeted. Then she tucked a small foil packet into the pocket of his suit jacket she continued. "Be safe."

Hodgins laughed, pulling the condom from his pocket. "I am going to go out on a limb here and guess this has something to do with your challenge."

"Are you suggesting that I don't care about the well being of my colleagues?" she laughed.

"Care about our well being sure. Caring about the physical aspects of our relationships, now I seem to recall that goes in direct violation of a few of your lab rules."

"And don't you forget it," she reminded him.

Hands raised in mock surrender he led her through to the lounge room and invited her to take a seat on the couch. "Ange is just freshening up. She should be out soon. Can I get you a drink in the mean time?"

His offer was interrupted by the doorbell. "How about you point me in the direction of the fridge and I will help myself while you get the door?" she suggested.

"Sounds like a plan," he agreed.

Both Sweets and Booth were waiting outside when he opened the door. "Gentlemen," he greeted with a mock bow for emphasis. He ushered them inside. "Now Booth, I am sure you won't say no to a beer. Sweets, can I grab one for you also?"

"That'd be great," he replied, surprising the other men who did not have him pegged as a beer drinker.

Cam greeted Sweets with a handshake, palming a condom to him in the process. "Be safe," she told him.

Sweets looked down at the small package he had been handed and raised his eyebrows. "Angela?" he asked.

Cam smile and shrugged, repeating the process with Booth who laughed and pocketed the condom. "That might come in handy later," he teased.

"I don't want to know," she assured him in response.

Angela emerged at this point, flicking on the stereo on the way past and making her way to join the group standing in the lounge.

"You look stunning," Camille greeted her, dropping a condom into her cleavage. "Be safe," she winked.

Angela laughed. "I wondered which one you had picked. I'm just going to grab myself a drink and I will be back to join you all. Help yourselves to the munchies."

She made her way into the kitchen, grabbing a wine glass and was pouring herself some when Hodgins came in behind her. "Want me to pour one for you?" she asked without looking around.

"That's okay," he replied, "I just came in to confirm what Cam said. You do look absolutely stunning in that dress."

She was about to turn around to face him when she became aware of a hand on her backside, squeezing it through the sheer fabric of the red satin dress she was wearing. "Oh, and I had to do this. Someone challenged me to do so and I wasn't about to grope Cam. Sweets, well he just doesn't do anything for me I am afraid, and I am not about to risk being shot by Booth."

Angela laughed. "Point taken, but I think you have completed your challenge. If you keep your hand there any longer though you may find yourself in trouble with your girlfriend."

"Girlfriend?" Hodgins was confused. "I think I missed that memo."

Angela's face changed to an expression he couldn't quite read.

"Who told you I have a girlfriend?" he asked.

"Well, no-one I guess, I just…"

"Is this why you have been avoiding me?" he interrupted.

"I haven't been avoiding you," she tried to argue, but they both new she had been.

"Well rest assured pretty lady, that is most certainly not the case. Now, I believe we have a party to get back to." He guided her back out to the rest of the group.

"We seem to be missing Dr Brennan," Sweets observed. "She was coming wasn't she?"

"She shouldn't be far away," Angela assured them. This was proved to be true a few minutes later when the doorbell announced her presence and Angela went to let her in. "Wow!" Angela observed, "That dress looks even better than I remember. A certain spunky FBI agent is going to have trouble keeping his eyes off you with you looking like that. And his hands for that matter."

"Angela," Brennan complained with a smile.

"What? A girl can hope can't she? It isn't like I am getting any at the moment. You can't deny me my right to live vicariously."

Bones laughed. "You don't give up do you?"

"Nope," her friend agreed as they made their way into the lounge.

"Good evening Dr Brennan," Sweets greeted, "I was beginning to wonder if you were coming."

Brennan looked confused. "Angela had informed me that the socially acceptable thing to do in the event of a formal occasion at a private residence is for the attending guests to arrive at least a half an hour beyond the advertised start time in order to ensure the host had sufficient time to adequately prepare."

"That's my girl," Angela laughed. "Now let's get you a drink."

Angela grabbed her friends arm and dragged her in to the kitchen. "Oh my god," she squealed. Did you see the look on his face?"

"What look, and on whose face?"

Angela looked at her friend, "Um, a certain tall dark and handsome partner of yours perhaps. Honestly Sweetie, for an incredibly smart person you can be quite daft at time. Booth. He couldn't keep his mouth shut when you walked in."

Bones felt the heat rising in her cheeks at the thought and silently cursed herself for letting his admiration of her appearance have that effect on her. "I wasn't aware of such a reaction."

"Well everyone else was, believe me. That was one hell of an impact you just made on him. With any luck he won't be able to get the image of you in that dress out of his head for a long time. Now, what can I get you to drink?"

Angela poured a glass of champagne for her friend and went about creating a lavish pink cocktail, complete with a small umbrella in the top.

Bones was bemused. "That doesn't appear to be your typical preference in beverage," she observed.

"Oh, this?" Angela asked with a laugh. "This isn't for me. This one is for Sweets."

Back in the lounge Booth had claimed a seat on the sofa and was trying to sit in a way that would not draw attention to the extent of the impact his partners arrival had had upon certain parts of his anatomy. The combination of the brilliant blue of the fabric that made her eyes appear to shine an even more brilliant blue than usual, combined with the way her dress accentuated her curves incredibly, not to mention of course the fact he had reason to believe she was nothing the dress, well he wouldn't be human if he didn't notice. She looked stunning. She normally looked good, but this was taking it up to another level again. Wow. He was still trying to regain his composure when the girls re-entered the room and he found himself staring at her once again.

Bones flashed a wide smile in his direction as she walked over to where Cam and Sweets were standing, noticing the way his eyes followed her as she moved across the room. Her appearance did seem to be eliciting a stronger than usual reaction from her partner and she felt a surge of pleasure rush through her as a result. Chiding herself for her illogical behaviour she directed her attention back to the people in front of her.

Angela handed Sweets her elaborate concoction, and he accepted it, much to the surprise of Bones and Cam.

"Okay then," Cam observed, eyebrows raised. "I wouldn't have picked that as your chosen drink."

Sweets choose not to enlighten her of Angela's challenge, knowing full well that if Booth or Hodgins were to get wind of it that his evening was likely to become somewhat more interesting than he desired. "I'm expanding my horizons," he said with a shrug.

Hodgins had elected to join Booth on the sofa. "We certainly have the pleasure of working with some incredibly hot women," he observed. "They certainly put us to shame."

"Speak for yourself," Booth teased, trying to appear calmer and more in control than he felt. "I have it on good authority that I scrub up pretty good myself."

Hodgins laughed. "Angela's been building up that low self esteem you suffer from again I see."

"Jealous," asked Booth raising his eyebrows.

"You have no idea," Hodgins replied.

* * *

**TBC**

**I am going to be terribly mean and leave it here for the moment. This chapter is going to end up stupidly long if I let you have all the fun in one hit. That and I don't want to leave you hanging any longer than I already have.**

**Want the rest of the party (and the fallout that will inevitably follow)? Drop me a line and let me know. Otherwise I might think you have all given up reading and I will go find a new way to pass the time :P**


	10. Chapter 10

**Thankyou all so much for the feedback so far – even those I had to blackmail it out of. You made me a very happy lady when I turned my computer on this morning. Thankyou, Thankyou, Thankyou, and did I mention THANKYOU!**

**Now, back to the story.**

* * *

Chapter 10

* * *

The party was in full swing. Angela glanced around the room, pleased with how things were progressing so far. Everyone was relaxing and so far they seemed to be going along with her challenges and having a lot of laughs along the way. Booth was yet to carry out his challenge, but the effect that Bones was having upon him was tremendous and she couldn't wait to see the sparks that flew when the two of them locked lips.

Bones and Booth had migrated to the same area of the room and had fallen into comfortable conversation. Well seemingly comfortable to those who observed them anyway. He was drawing on every bit of strength he could muster in an attempt to keep his mind out of the gutter yet still finding his mind heading in just that direction. There was just something about her tonight. More than just her appearance, more than her lack of undergarments, something he could not pin down, but whatever it was it was damn sexy. Alluring. _"Get it together Seeley. You haven't even kissed her yet." _

Bones meanwhile was wondering exactly when or how he was planning on kissing her. She knew it was coming, at least she assumed that it still was, and the anticipation had all of her nerve endings twitching. The thought of him drawing her towards himself. Of his lips meeting hers. How long would he let them linger? Would he let his lips part and send his tongue in search of hers? Why hadn't he kissed her already? Had he changed his mind and decided not to? Silently she tried to analyse her irrational behaviour. Why could she not stop thinking about a staged kiss with someone she was not looking to take things any further with? Why did kissing Booth have so much appeal to her? She didn't understand it. She couldn't describe or classify it, and this only seemed to heighten the anticipation.

Bored of observing their chatter, Angela decided it was time to hurry things along in her typical, not so subtle manner. Approaching them she interrupted their conversation. "Booth will you just hurry up and kiss her already. You are killing me here."

"Who said I was going to kiss her?" he asked and Bones felt her mouth go dry. He had changed his mind. He didn't want to kiss her.

"Booth," Angela whined with a pout. "You have to. Otherwise no present for you." She shook her finger teasingly.

"Your challenge only says I had to kiss someone. It didn't specify who. Maybe I should kiss you or Cam instead."

Bones face fell as she felt a wave of disappointment flood over her. He didn't want to kiss her. He would rather kiss one of her colleagues than her.

Angela punched Booth playfully on the shoulder. "Now look what you have gone and done. You've made the poor girl sad. You had better give her a nice big kiss to make it up to her."

Booth laughed, "Yeah, you are probably right. Come here Bones," he said, grabbing her arm and pulling her towards him.

Bones was caught off guard, unsure as to what was going on and shocked back into the present by the suggestion that he was actually about to kiss her. She stumbled as he pulled her towards him, crashing heavily into his chest.

Booth grabbed her around the waist with both hands, steadying her. "I was hoping to leave you breathless after the kiss," he told her, "I wasn't meaning to make you that way before we even started. You're stealing my thunder here Bones."

She was about to speak up and tell him she didn't understand what he was saying, but he leaned in towards her, silencing her with his deep brown eyes. He was about to kiss her. It was actually going to happen. She felt as though electricity was coursing through her body.

"Close your eyes Bones," he told her, and she obeyed.

They both leant in simultaneously, closing the short distance remaining. Their lips touched, softly, carefully. She thought he was about to pull away when she felt him alter his stance, but instead he pulled her closer, wrapping one of his strong arms around her waist, the other hand finding its way up to the back of her head. Her arms wrapped around him in response as the kiss deepened. Feeling his lips part she forced her tongue in and went in search of his. Exploring his mouth hungrily. The kiss intensified still further as they attempted to devour each other, oblivious to all the eyes now staring in their direction until eventually they broke apart, breathless.

"I can honestly observe," she told him between gasps, "That you have most definitely succeeded in leaving me breathless."

He laughed and pulled her back towards him, this time into a hug and whispered in her ear, "You are not the only one Bones."

They were interrupted by Cam clearing her throat loudly. They loosen their grip on each other slightly, turning to face her.

"Be safe," she told them with a chuckle, slipping a condom into the top of Brennan's dress.

Angela was nearly in hysterics by this stage, jumping up and down squealing. She threw her arms around both Booth and Brennan, locking them both in a group hug.

"What?" Booth asked her, eyebrows raised. "I was just following orders. I seem to recall someone having set me a challenge. Now where is my present?"

"And my present," Brennan added. "I believe I have satisfied the terms of your challenge sufficiently."

"Has everyone completed their challenges?" Cam enquired.

"Not quite," Angela admitted. "I still haven't gotten around to doing mine. I think I have been well and truly upstaged however, so maybe we should just skip ahead to the opening of presents."

"Not likely," Hodgins retorted. "We all played along. Your turn lady."

Everyone else nodded in agreement.

"Okay, okay," she conceded. "But putting me on the spot like this really kills the spontaneity."

"Just get on with it," Booth teased. "We want our presents."

"Fine," she said, turning to Hodgins. She slowly and quietly began to serenade him.

_If I _

_Should stay_

_I would only be in your way_

_So I'll go_

_But I know_

_I'll think of you every step of_

_The way_

_And I...  
Will always  
Love you, oohh  
Will always  
Love you  
You  
My darling you  
Mmm-mm_

The words of Whitney Houston filled the room as everyone stood in stunned silence.

_I hope  
life treats you kind  
And I hope  
you have all you've dreamed of  
And I wish you joy  
and happiness  
But above all this  
I wish you love_

And I...  
Will always love you  
I...  
Will always love you

I, I will always love  
You...  
You  
Darling I love you  
I'll always  
I'll always  
Love  
You..  
Oooh  
Ooohhh

Hodgins jumped up abruptly at the end of her song. "I'll be right back," he said without meeting her eyes as he rushed from the room.

Angela's stomach dropped. Just when she thought they were on the same page, she had clearly gone and stuffed it all again. She cursed herself for how deep she had managed to fit her foot in her mouth this time. Tears welling in her eyes she was about to bolt from the room when he returned and was back standing before her once more.

"Ange," he whispered. "Please Angela, don't cry." He brushed a hand over her cheek. "I just wanted to give you this. I was originally going to use this as your Kris Kringle present, but I lost my nerve. But I want you to have it. Please?"

She took the small box that he offered, her eyes glued to his, as the emotion washed back and forth between them.

"Please," he repeated. "Open it?"

She peeled back the wrapping that surrounded the small jewellery store box and had a good idea of what she was about to see before her. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and slowly opening the box. To her surprise, it was empty.

"I don't understand?" She looked up at him, her face full of confusion.

"This box is a symbol," he told her. "Of how empty my life is without you. And a promise," he continued, "that one day, if you let me, I will fill it with any ring you choose. I know we tried to do this before. But we weren't strong enough, and we let the world defeat us. But I have learnt my lesson, and with your permission I will never let go of you again."

Angela had tears streaming down her face, her mouth hanging open. She stood, frozen to the spot, unable to speak, unable to move.

"Ange," Hodgins pushed.

She looked deep into his eyes and saw the depths of the emotion they contained. Mustering all her strength, she nodded and with that he threw his arms around her, lifting her from the ground and spinning her around before drawing her to him for a long, passionate kiss.

Their friends broke into applause cheering them on.

"Get a room you two," Booth heckled.

"Oh God," Camile teased, "Don't tell me I am going to have to get camera's installed in the store rooms again."

The broke apart eventually, smiles filling their faces.

Wrapping his arm around Bones shoulder, Booth pulled her towards him and whispered in her ear, "I don't think now would be a good time to tell them that our kiss was just for show."

Bones nodded in silent agreement. That could wait for another time.

* * *

**TBC**

**I know, I am mean and horrible. But I need my sleep and I wanted to get this much to you before I went to bed. More to come soon. This party has a bit of life left in it yet. Please, please, please let me know what you think. Your reviews spur me on and give me the drive I need to keep this story rolling. Thankyou to everyone who takes the time to read, but massive thanks to those who take the few minutes to give me some feedback.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Sorry for the delay in updating. Two sick bubba's and a laptop that didn't want to play nice slowed me down somewhat. I hadn't forgotten about you all, I promise.**

**Thankyou so much for taking the time to read and review, it means the world to me.**

* * *

Chapter 11

* * *

_"I don't think now would be a good time to tell them that our kiss was just for show." _They were the words that he had whispered in her ear moments before. _"Just for show,"_ she was continuing to repeat to herself. They were just partners, it was just an act, and it was just a kiss, just for show.

"_Pull yourself together Seeley," _he was telling himself. _"She is your partner. There is a line there that you don't want to cross. And if you do you will send her running for the hills."_

Trying to ignore the thoughts rushing through their heads they continued to chat and laugh with their friends, glad that Jack and Angela had taken the spotlight off of them for the moment.

Before long, it occurred to Temperance that they were yet to actually exchange and open their presents. "I am claiming the gift I have earned," she announced, making her way to the tree. "Would anybody else like theirs?"

There was a chorus of "Me's," so Brennan went to begin passing the gifts to their noted recipients.

"Before you open them," Angela interrupted, "You have to announce what your challenge was to the rest of the group. Just in case they haven't caught on yet."

"I think you have all figured out mine," Cam announced, accepting her gift from Brennan.

"Be safe," came the chorused response amid laughter.

She tore the paper off of her gift, revealing a book, 'Suggestive Thoughts for Busy Workers,' by J Osborne Keen. "Okay then," she laughed, "I am going to go out on a limb here and guess that I have Angela to thank for this one."

"It seemed appropriate," Angela giggled.

"Alright," Brennan announced, "This one has your name on it Sweets."

"My challenge was to accept any drink that was offered to me," he said.

"And don't think that stops just because you have your gift," Angela told him. "You have to keep it up till you go home or I am confiscating your gift."

"That seems a little unfair seeming as though everyone now knows what my challenge is," he argued.

"That's the rules," Angela replied. "The party isn't over yet so nor is your challenge."

Sweets accepted his gift and began to open it and Angela took this to mean he had accepted her terms. Opening his gift he found a coffee mug. Removing it from his box he read the words printed on the side. "Okay, so a monkey could do my job, but I was here first." Looking slightly insulted he turned his attention to Booth. "Is this your doing?" he asked.

Booth held his hands up in defence, "Don't look at me," he laughed. "Funny, but I had nothing to do with it."

Hodgins snort gave him away and Sweets turned his attention to him, "I'll remember this," he threatened, but this only served to bring more laughter from around the room.

"The next one is for Angela," Brennan said, handing her present to her.

"Well I already know who had me, and I am pretty sure you all know what my challenge was." Smiling at Hodgins she continued, "And I loved my other gift." Tearing the paper off of this gift she found a decorative photo frame. "Thanks Jack. I will have to find a nice shot of us to go in there." She turned to Hodgins and leaned in to kiss him and he pulled her towards him, deepening the kiss amidst more teasing and catcalls from their friends.

"The next present has your name on it Hodgins." Brennan attempted to interrupt.

"I'm good, I have my present," he laughed, holding Angela in a tight embrace.

Angela laughed, "As sweet as that is, you had better let go of me and play along. I think Brennan is going to have a coronary if she doesn't get her gift soon."

"Whilst I am not denying the fact I am keenly awaiting my turn," Brennan corrected, "I am by no means in danger of suffering any adverse medical implications from doing so."

"Well just to be on the safe side I should probably open it," Hodgins laughed, taking the gift from her. "My challenge was to grab the ass of a fellow party goer."

Inside was a tie that on closer inspection was decorated with a pattern of small insects. "Awesome." He looked from Brennan to Booth and then Sweets, "And who do I need to thank for this?"

"That would be me," Sweets acknowledge. He glanced at Booth and Brennan, "Looks like you two were buying for each other then." He couldn't help but notice that they were both very much on edge which only added to his long-held suspicions that the two of them were by no means 'just partners.'

Brennan picked up the last two gifts, handing Booth his before taking a seat beside him on the sofa.

"Ladies first," Booth offered.

Brennan smiled and accepted eagerly, moving to rip the wrapping from her gift.

"What was your challenge first?" Sweets enquired.

"I was required to go the full 24 hours of today without wearing any underwear," she told him, her attention not leaving the small gift that she was opening. She didn't notice the flush that came over Booths cheeks at the reminder of this, but it was not missed by the rest of the guests.

Unveiling the carefully chosen earrings she turned to Booth. "They are gorgeous. Thankyou," she told him with a smile.

"Parker helped me choose them," he admitted. "He originally suggested that we get you a ring, but I managed to convince him that this would be a better idea."

Bones laughed. "Well tell Parker I love them."

"You can tell him yourself next weekend," Booth reminded her, and she nodded.

"Your turn," she told him, gesturing to his gift. She was fidgeting somewhat in her seat, hoping desperately that he would like his gift.

"Okay," he replied, addressing the group, "Well my challenge was to kiss one of the other party goes."

"Really?" Angela teased. "I think we missed that. I think you better go again and prove you deserve your gift."

Booth laughed, "Don't think for a minute I believe you," he told her, "But since I am such a nice guy I will play along."

Bones turned her attention back to him from Angela in surprise as he pulled her towards him and planted another kiss on her lips. Much shorter, and simpler than their earlier efforts, but no less powerful. Cursing himself silently for just how much he was enjoying kissing her, he returned his attention to his gift, leaving Bones somewhat dazed. He extracted a simple silver key-ring from the box.

"I wasn't sure what to get you," Bones admitted, "So I tried to focus on the things that were important to you." She reached over to the key-ring and pressed a finger against the small release on the side that had gone unnoticed by Booth. It flipped open revealing a photo of Booth with Parker. "This way you can take him with you where ever you go," she explained.

She went to withdraw her hand but he captured it with his free hand, pulling her towards him and wrapping his arms around her. "Thankyou," he whispered in her ear, clearly touched by the thoughtfulness of her gift. She breathed a sigh of relief that he had liked her gift, eagerly returning his embrace. She could feel the warmth across her back where his arms were resting and marvelled at how comfortable she was in his arms. A nagging thought in the back of her mind dragged her back to reality though. This wasn't real. He was just continuing their act. When this over they would go back to where they were. Just partners, with big line drawn in the sand between them.

They released their hold on each other and returned to their positions on the sofa, but he left his arm around her shoulders. He knew that he wouldn't be able to do this when they returned to the 'real world,' but in this alternate reality they had created she was happily consenting and he was enjoying it far to much to listen to the little voice in his head warning him that he was well beyond the point of no return.

She let her head rest against his shoulder and they turned their attention back to the rest of the group. They were still sitting this way when Daisy arrived and Angela went to show her in.

Daisy entered and stood staring around the room, trying to absorb the sight before her. Dr Brennan was snuggled against Agent Booth on the sofa and her Lancelot was telling them a tale in a very animated fashion, a gaudy pink cocktail sloshing around in his hand and Angela to Hodgins, wrapping her arms around his waist.

The girl who normally did not stop talking found herself momentarily without words.

Sweets finished his tale before turning to her. "Hey there sexy lady," he greeted stepping towards her somewhat unsteadily. "I love you this much," he told her, flinging his arms apart and spilling part of his drink in the process. He wrapped his arms around her, spilling more of his drink, this time down her back.

Daisy squealed as the cold liquid hit her back, regaining her ability to speak. "I love you too Lancelot," she told him. "But I thought that you were just going to accept that drinks offered to you and that you weren't going to drink them all. Has everyone else been drinking to the same excess as you? Is that what is going on here?" She glanced from Hodgins and Angela to Brennan and Booth. "It seems to me that you have had quite an eventful evening. I am glad I arrived when I did or I may have walked in to find you with your arms around Dr Saroyan."

"I can assure you that there was no danger of that," Camille assured her.

"And unlike Sweets, the rest of us are in complete control of our actions," Hodgins added. "No alcohol induced stupor here." He gave Angela another smile, placing a kiss on her cheek.

Sweets spoke up attempting to defend himself but his jumbled, slurred speech did nothing to support his pleas that he too was fully competent.

"I think we better take you home Lancelot," she told him.

"But I don't wanna," he whined. "I love you."

"Come on Lancelot," she insisted, "Bed time. I'll take you home and tuck you in."

She grabbed Sweets arm, leading him in the direction of the door, still looking entirely bemused as to just was she had walked into.

"I should probably make a move as well," said Cam. "Thankyou all for a thoroughly amusing evening. I will see you all on Monday."

Angela and Hodgins followed in the direction of the door to show their guests out, leaving Booth and Brennan sitting on the sofa alone.

"We should probably make a move also," said Booth, "And get out the way before those two start ripping clothes off of each other."

"That would probably be a wise move," Brennan agreed, but made no attempt to move her head from Booths shoulder. She was enjoying the closeness and didn't want it to end.

"We can get out the way and let them have their fun. We may as well leave Angela feeling incredibly proud of herself for now. We can let her know that we were wise to her little game another time." He gave her shoulder a squeeze, pulling her closer for a moment before standing up and pulling her to her feet. He chose his words differently to the last time he had suggested delaying such an announcement. As hard as he had been trying to convince himself that it was just for show, he knew how much he was enjoying it, how much he would like it to not be 'just for show.' The thought of this terrified him however, and he knew how much more it would terrify her. So rather than making her bolt he was content just to live out this little fantasy for a little longer and avoid the reality of having to decide what to do with the mess of emotions that were swirling around inside of his head. He could deal with that another day.

They wished their friends goodnight amid more squeals and hugs from Angela and made their way out into the night. Using the excuse that Angela was probably watching, (although he was certain her attention had ceased to be on them the minute the door had closed), he pulled Bones towards him for another hug. Feeling her pull away he loosened his grip on her but was surprised when instead of breaking the embrace she tilted her head up, finding his lips with her own. Sparks flew once more as they lost themselves in a long, frantic kiss. Obviously she wanted to put on a good show for Angela as well.

Eventually they broke away from each other, wishing each other goodnight and sheepishly making their way to their respective vehicles. Both wondered just how long they could stretch out this little act before having to return to reality. They made their way to their respective homes and soon both of their heads rested on pillows, filled with thoughts of each other.

* * *

**TBC**

**Sorry again for the wait. Please, please, please drop me a line to let me know what you think. Lots of nice inboxes telling me I have reviews is wonderful motivation to overcome writers block and keep the words flowing quickly! The party may be over, but there is still plenty of fallout to come from this little get together.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Still a few more twists and turns to go on this little journey. Hope you are enjoy it so far. Drop me a line and let me know what you think so far.**

* * *

Chapter 12

* * *

Sunday came and went uneventfully. Neither Booth nor Bones could find a convincing reason to call or drop in on each other so instead they pottered around their respective apartments trying to keep their minds busy.

Monday morning dawned and the shrill buzz of her alarm clock startled Brennan back from the enjoyable dream she was engrossed in. She rolled out of bed with a sigh. Back to reality.

Booth was sprawled out under the covered enjoying a dream of his own when his phone alarm rudely interrupted. Fumbling blindly at his bedside table he eventually grasped the phone and brought it to his face, blinking his eyes in and attempt to adjust to daylight. The reminder the phone provided was no more welcomed than the sound that came with it. They had an appointment with Sweets this morning. Shit, that was the last thing he needed today. Sending a quick sms to Bones he dragged himself out from the covers and under the shower.

Bones was just finishing her coffee when she heard a knock on her door. She knew it was Booth and was glad, although she wasn't entirely sure what had brought him to her door. "Good morning," she greeted him.

"All set to go?" he asked.

"Just about," she replied, confusion evident on her face.

"Our appointment with Sweets," he explained, "I sent you a message saying I would pick you up on the way."

"Ah. That must have come through while I was in the shower. I didn't notice it sorry. Just let me grab my bag and I will be good to go."

The mention of her in the shower reminded Booth of the dream he had been enjoying earlier and he reddened slightly, grateful that she had already turned away from him and was focusing her attention on getting ready to go.

Before long they were on the road. "We should probably decide how we are going to play this before we get there," he suggested.

"I'm not sure I understand," she replied.

"Well the last time Sweets saw us we were making out. Now I know the kid was pretty hammered by the end of the night, but I am pretty sure he is going to have questions."

Glancing across at Bones he saw the blank look on her face. "The twelve year old may have been intoxicated, but I am pretty sure that he is going to want to analyse why we were kissing."

"Yeah, I got that," she assured him. "I was just considering our options."

"What have you come up with?" he asked.

"Well as far as I can see we really only have two choices before us. We either confess, or we continue the act."

The word 'act' caused him to tense up, reminding him that it was all a game to her. He pushed her to continue her thoughts, not wanting to be the one to call an end to their charade. If she wanted to walk away he wouldn't risk stopping her, he hoped she wouldn't, but the ball was in her court.

"Ultimately the decision revolves around how deep we wish to carry this rouse. If we allow Sweets to think that we have entered into a relationship we will have to endure not only his smugness at being right, but also it will force him to make this 'development' known to our superiors. Alternatively, if we were to make him aware of our plan, we would most certainly have to endure a long lecture from him, but it may be possible for us to convince him not to reveal the nature of our behaviour to Angela, allowing us to complete our original objective."

"_Or we could introduce a third alternative in which we admit to the fact that this ceased to be a game a long time ago,"_ he thought to himself. He knew better than to voice this however. He dreaded the way that conversation would end enough without launching into it right before a meeting with Sweets. Faced with the two spoken alternatives, there really was no choice. She had raised a valid point. Any such development in their relationship, as much as Sweets tried to push them in that direction, would not be without its complications. And there really was no point in bringing their bosses into something that wasn't real. "Looks like we are getting a lecture then," he announced, adding silently, _"And hopefully we can convince him to keep this quiet for now."_

She nodded, disappointed but not surprised by his choice. This was after all 'just for show.' He was playing along with her game, nothing more, so it made sense that he would not involve his superiors in something like this for no reason.

The rest of their journey was conducted in silence and they soon arrived at the door to Sweets office. Entering, they found the young psychiatrist grinning triumphantly. He gestured for them to take a seat, and once the pleasantries were taken care of he elected to dive right in, clearly thrilled that his two problem patients had finally decided to take a forward step in the dance they had been prolonging for way to long.

"Now, I don't have the clearest memories of what went on Saturday night," he confided, "But I do remember seeing the two of you locked in a rather passionate embrace. That and Daisy has not stopped squealing about how incredible it is that the two of you have finally found your soul mates."

"No, you are mistaken," Dr Brennan corrected, "We are not soul mates."

"I was simply paraphrasing Daisy's statement," he clarified, knowing better than to push them too hard too fast. It had after all taken them numerous years to arrive at this point. "I realize that things must still be in the early stages, but you cannot deny that there has been a change in paradigm within your relationship."

"Actually I can deny this," Brennan argued before Booth cut in.

"Sorry to disappoint you kid, but there is no relationship. We are just partners."

"Unfortunately you have simply been caught up in an act that we have staged for Angela's benefit," she added.

His words had stung as they left his mouth, but hers cut him deeper still. There was no point pretending this was something that it wasn't. She had made her feelings clear and he had to man up and get over it.

Sweets glanced from one face to the other, both clearly struggling to maintain their composure as they tried to convince him that their kiss had been nothing more than an attempt to stop Angela from any further attempts at matchmaking. He listened in silence, no wanting to believe the words he was hearing. His day had started on such a high, feeling great about the progress that had been made. Not only was this unfounded, but it seemed that they two of them had actually regressed. They were not being honest with each other, or with themselves. They could barely look at each other and were drawing further away from each other physically the longer the discussion progressed.

Sweets sat shaking his head, mouth open as he heard them ask him to play along with their game and not reveal their plan to Angela, his head falling to his hands. "You two are sitting here, telling me that you are not really considering the possibility of a relationship, and trying to convince me that the kiss you shared on Saturday night was nothing more than staged, and on top of all of that, you are asking me to assist you with this ridiculous plan you have dreamed up?" he asked incredulously.

"We are not requiring that you assist us," Brennan corrected, "We are simply asking that you do not reveal what we have told you in confidence to Angela."

Sweets sighed, shaking his head again. They were both clearly insane. He sat in silence for a while, continuing to take in the scene before him. "_Fine,"_ he decided finally, _"If they want to play with fire then who am I to stop them." _If nothing else it will force them to subconsciously consider the dynamics of their relationship which would not be all bad. "While I by no means support you in your behaviour, you do have me in a bind in that I cannot breech confidentiality and reveal this information outside of this room," he told them.

"So you will play along?" asked Booth, not quite believing his luck.

"Yes, I will play along. But can you two please at least give some thought to what exactly it is you are playing at."

Brennan and Booth looked at each other triumphantly before standing and wishing Sweets fair well, fleeing his office and leaving him once again with his head in his hands. So much for his good day.

Booth and Bones made their way back, to go over the case that they had begun on Saturday morning. "That could have gone a lot worse," Brennan observed on the way.

"Yeah," Booth agreed. "Now we just have the squints to deal with." He wrapped his arm around her shoulders as they neared the lab. He didn't know how long this little game was going to last but he wanted to make the most of it while he could. "Ready?" he asked her.

"Are you," she teased in response, eyebrows raised.

"Terrified," he told her, only half joking, "This is Angela we are dealing with."

* * *

**TBC**

**A shorter chapter I know, but s****orry, but you are just going to have to wait for Angela's reaction and the rest of what is to come. **

**Time for me to get some rest. I will update as soon as possible, but nothing motivates me to work harder like a full inbox does, so please take the time to send me a few words. Good or bad I would love to hear what you think.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Sorry that this update has taken me so long :-( I will endeavour to be quicker with the following ones. Thankyou for coming on this little ride with me. Hope you are enjoying it.**

* * *

Chapter 13

* * *

Angela's squeals announced their presence throughout the lab as she rushed towards them throwing her hands around Brennan. "I need to know EVERYTHING!" she demanded of her friend, grabbing her arm and trying to drag her in the direction of her office.

"Good morning Angela," Booth greeted with a laugh.

"Hey Booth, congratulations! I just need to steal your girl for a moment."

"Angela," Brennan interrupted indignantly, "I am not a child, nor am I Booth's property. And, I have work to do."

Angela pouted, "But I have been waiting for this for sooo long. You owe me gossip."

Booth wrapped his arm around Brennan's shoulder, making the most of the liberties he was currently allowed. "Sorry Angela, but I don't feel like sharing her at the moment. You will just have to wait."

Brennan turned to Booth, preparing to lecture him on treating her as something that could be owned, but the twinkle in his eye and cheeky smile that came with it silenced her arguing and instead she simply let him lead her towards her office, closing the door behind them. The shared a laugh at the look on Angela's face before getting on with the task at hand. Work.

Booth was sitting on the couch, Brennan at her desk, both flipping through files and deep in thought when a knock sounded at the door.

"Come in," Booth invited.

Cam entered the room looking both surprised and relieved. "You're working," she observed.

"What else would we be doing?" Brennan asked, confused.

"Well, um…"

"Relax Cam," Booth assured her quickly, "We are not Angela and Hodgins. We have the capacity to behave as professionals and not jump each other in every nook and cranny we find."

"Okay then," said Cam, turning and exiting the room.

Brennan was looking slightly hurt. "So if we were actually involved in a relationship you would have no issues in keeping your hands off of me and behaving in a strictly professional manner?"

The question was loaded and he took his time answering. Somehow he suspected going with his gut response and telling her that he had managed to keep his hands off of her thus far in spite or incredible longings to do the opposite was not going to be the best way to appease the situation. "If we were actually involved in a relationship," he answered finally, using her choice of words, "I am not saying that I would not want to drag you off into every secluded spot I could find and ravage you, I am just saying that I have enough self control to operate professionally in spite of internal desires." He decided to turn the tables on her, secretly desperate to hear her response. "Are you telling me that you would have difficulties keeping your hands off of this incredibly buff body of mine?"

"Point taken," she laughed. "I have a great ability to compartmentalise and I am always very professional." She purposely avoided giving any response to indicate her feelings on the subject and was about to turn her attention back to the files in front of her. Instead she mused out loud, "I wonder what Cam wanted? She never actually told us what she came in here for."

Booth chuckled. "I'm pretty sure she just came to make sure we weren't busy going at it on your desk."

"I'm not sure I understand?" Brennan looked at him slightly confused.

"Oh come on," Booth teased, "You know what I mean. I thought you were the genius here."

"I am a genius," she assured him, then suddenly realizing what he was saying, a wide grin lit up her face. "Oh," she said. "I understand now. You think that she came in sole for the purpose of ascertaining that we were not engaging in any form of coitus within the workplace."

Booth reddened. "She came in to make sure we were working Bones. She's the boss. She wanted to make sure we were doing our jobs."

"But really she isn't your boss," Brennan corrected. "You are not employed by the Jeffersonian, but by the FBI."

"I know who I work for Bones. Now can we get back to work please?" He had had quite enough talk about sex for one morning and he was having enough trouble keeping his mind on the job and other parts of his anatomy behaving professionally without continuing this discussion.

Brennan nodded and they once again busied themselves with the work before them. It wasn't long however before they received another interruption, this time in the form of Angela.

"Okay you two," she announced, "We are going on a double date Saturday night. And you," she continues pointing to Bones, "Are coming out to lunch with me today. You owe me girl talk."

"Sorry Angela. No can do." Booth replied. "Parker has already claimed Bones for a games night on Saturday."

"And I don't understand how it could be possible for me to owe you girl talk," Brennan added.

Angela was not going to back down without a fight however. "Fine then," she told them, "We will just have to make it Friday night instead. Be ready for lunch by twelve thirty Brennan and we can work out the details for Friday then."

Before Booth or Brennan had a chance to come up with any excuses to get them out of this she had turned and fled the room.

"Sounds like I am taking you out on a date Friday night," Booth observed, trying to limit the massive smile that was threatening to escape to one a little more in keeping with this being a part of their scheme rather than an actual date. When Brennan apologised profusely and offered to try and talk Angela out of their double date he was glad he had kept his excitement on the subject to himself. "It is fine Bones," he told her. "Anyway, it gives us a great opportunity to mess with Angela a bit more." He was hoping like crazy that she would agree as opposed to marching into Angela's office and confessing everything instead.

Brennan looked thoughtful. "That is a valid point," she agreed, glad that he wasn't insisting on calling the whole thing off just yet. "It will certainly consolidate our efforts so far." She couldn't help but shoot Booth a wide grin, thrilled at the chance to be his 'pretend' girlfriend a little longer. She had always secretly wondered what it would feel like to be with Booth, and this was as close as she was likely to get to finding out.

Booth returned her smile, glad that she was enjoying turning the tables on Angela. He would have preferred that she was excited at the idea of going on a date with him, but he would settle for what he could get.

They returned their attention to the files for a short while longer before their days took them in separate directions. Bones was remaining in the lab to examine the body and oversee the investigation of the physical evidence while Booth was returning to the Hoover building to chase up on other aspects of the case.

Walking out of Brennan's office together they reached the point were their paths separated. Aware that they were within eyesight of both Angela and Hodgins, Booth decided to play things up a bit and turned to give Bones a hug in farewell. She had had the same thought as he did and was significantly closer to him than he expected and his movement through them both off balance, causing them to gab each other to steady themselves. Laughing, he pulled her in for a hug, planting a small peck on her cheek. "Have a good day Bones. I will talk to you later."

"I hope your day goes well also," she returned with a smile, her cheek warm from the touch of his lips. They parted and she made her way into the lab with a wide smile on her face.

* * *

Brennan had become so absorbed with the work in front of her that she soon lost track of time. Angela was not about to let her forget their lunch plans however and was soon standing behind her tapping her foot. When this failed to get Brennan's attention she cleared her throat loudly. "Ahem."

Brennan looked up from the bones lying on the table in front of her and Angela held her wrist out and tapped the area where a watch would be worn in response.

"Is there something wrong with your wrist Ange?" she asked.

"No Sweetie," Angela assured her, "My wrist is fine. You however seem to be failing at keeping track of time."

Brennan glanced at her watch. "Its quarter to one," she responded, not understanding Angela's meaning.

"Exactly," Angela confirmed. "And I told you I was taking you out for lunch a quarter of an hour ago. So go get your purse so we can get going."

"I am right in the middle of something at the moment Ange. Maybe we could do lunch another day?"

"If I thought for a minute that another day would be any different I might be open to that suggestion. But I know you Sweetie. You are always right in the middle of something. So this time I am insisting you take a break and come and get some lunch with me. I am pretty sure that he is not going to go anywhere without you."

"It would be physically impossible for him to go anywhere without assistance in his current state," Brennan observed.

"That is so not the point," Angela groaned. "Now go grab your purse, pronto."

Brennan sighed. She could see that arguing with Angela was going to be fruitless and decided that she would ultimately get more done if she consented to Angela's plan for lunch and then returned. Getting what she was doing to a point where she would be able to pick it up again on her return she consented and grabbed her purse from her office and the two of them made their way towards the diner.

"So?" asked Angela once they were seated and enjoying their meals.

"So what?" Brennan responded.

"So how is it?" her friend asked.

"I'm not sure I understand."

Angela exhaled audibly. "How are things with the hunky FBI man you were making out with on Saturday night? I want details, all of them!"

Brennan looked thoughtful but didn't respond so Angela pushed further. "So what happened when he dropped you home? Or did he take you back to his place?"

"We had our own cars at Hodgins so there was no need for him to drop me home."

"Surely you could have found an excuse to get him to drive you?"

"That would have been impractical considering that we reside in opposing directions from Hodgins residence."

Angela exhaled again. "It isn't about being practical Sweetie. Do you mean to tell me that you and that gorgeous piece of man finally locked lips after all this time and that you went home to your own beds without so much as considering taking him back to your house and ripping the clothes off of him?"

Brennan's face reddened. The thought had certainly played itself out in her mind.

"So you did!" Angela squealed triumphantly. "When? Where? How? How many times? What was it like? Was it mind blowing? I bet it was incredible."

"No, wait, Angela. I didn't say that we engaged in intercourse."

Angela's face fell. "Well why the hell not?"

Brennan paused, considering her response. "We are just taking things slowly. Getting to know each other."

Angela rolled her eyes. "Sweetie if you take things any bloody slower by the time you get around to jumping him, neither of you will be able to jump. And as for getting to know him, the two of you know each other inside out. How much more is there to know?"

"I just don't want to rush into anything that we are going to regret afterwards." She told her friend, wishing it were as easy as Angela seemed to think it should be.

Angela shook her head. "Rushing couldn't be any further from reality. Seriously Sweetie. You are not fooling anyone but yourself. The guy is crazy about you and wants it as bad as you do. Just give him a good shagging already."

"Angela," Brennan began to argue, but Angela cut her off.

"Nope, not open for discussion. Just hurry up and get on with it so we can discuss all the juicy details. And they better be juicy details for making me wait so long."

Brennan was grateful when the discussion switched to plans for Friday night rather than what Angela thought she should be doing to Booth behind closed doors. It was hard enough to push those thoughts away and respect Booth's lines without being nagged about it. Besides, if they were to go down that path things would just end badly and as much as she liked the fantasies she wasn't prepared to deal with the repercussions of reality. She couldn't bear the thought of losing him, having lost so may people she cared about already.

They finished their lunch and made their way back to the office, finalising the time and venue for Friday night on the way. Upon their return, Brennan immediately threw herself back into her work, doing her best to keep her mind active on matters other than Booth, and before she knew it she was the only one left in the lab.

* * *

**TBC**

**I think this chapter is long enough for now so you will just have to wait and hear how their double date goes at a later stage, along with one or two other things I have in store for you.**

**As always, I live for reviews – sad I know, but please drop me a line to let me know what you think so far.**


	14. Chapter 14

**This is just a short chapter sorry but I didn't want you to think I had forgotten about you. Hope you like the little twists and turns so far. Just a couple more sketched out in my notebook for you to enjoy. Then I will have to find some new inspiration. But first things first. I promised you a Christmas present….**

* * *

Chapter 14

* * *

Bones was still sitting at her desk, losing the battle to keep her mind on the files in front of her, when she heard footsteps approaching and someone enter her office. She knew it was Booth without needing to look up. He walked to her desk and placed a bag of takeout in front of her.

"I was going to call past your place, but something told me you would still be here," he told her, flashing her a wide smile.

"Angela has gone home for the day Booth," she replied abruptly.

"And this is a problem?" he asked, not immediately catching her meaning.

"Not a problem, no." she clarified. "But since you had gone to the trouble of bringing me dinner I felt that it was appropriate to warn you that she was not here to witness your chivalrous acts."

"Ah, but it isn't an act Bones," he told her. Noticing her tense up he continued, "We are partners Bones. We look out for each other. And I know how you get so caught up in what you are doing that you forget to eat. So me being the incredible guy that I am, thought that I would bring you some food."

Bones didn't respond immediately. For a moment she had thought he was going to say something else. She had hoped he was going to say something else. But clearly she was alone in wishing this could be more than a game. She snapped herself back to reality and forced herself to stammer a response. "I'm sorry, you're right. You are an incredible partner. And this isn't the first time you have thoughtfully provided me with sustenance at times I have been distracted by other matters."

Something was off with her. Walking around the desk to stand behind her let his hands rest on her shoulder. Feeling the warmth of his hands through her jacket she tried to force herself to relax. "What's up Bones?" he asked. "Is this about the case?"

She shook her head. "No. I'm fine. Sorry for being short with you. I guess I just have a lot on my plate at the moment."

She didn't continue and he knew better than to push. She would tell him what was bothering her when she was ready. Instead, he leant over her shoulder, reaching for the chopsticks and placing them in her hand. "Well eat up then Bones," he told her, "Much easier to think with a fully tummy."

She nodded, thanking him and dug in to the food in front of her. He took one of the boxes from the bag and grabbed a set of chopsticks before flopping on the couch and digging in himself. They chatted more comfortably as they ate. He updated her on his investigations and she brought him up to speed with the developments from the physical evidence. By the time they had finished sharing information the Thai had been well and truly devoured. After making her promise that she would go home and get some rest at some stage he wished her goodnight and left her to return her attention to her work.

He drove home deep in thought, trying to interpret her behaviour. He didn't like any of the explanations he could come up with however. He sighed to himself. It looked like the only opportunity he had to be more than 'just partners' with her lay well outside the realms of reality. He would just have to enjoy this week, as once Angela was in on the game he was not likely to get another chance.

* * *

As the week continued he took every opportunity to play up their 'relationship'. Any audience provided an excuse to wrap his arm around her waist or plant a quick kiss on her cheek. He was enjoying himself, and surprising, she seemed to be also. She even caught him off guard when she initiated a hug upon seeing him Friday morning and added to her greeting by kissing him on the lips. "All set for our date tonight?" she asked him.

"Sure am," he responded with a smile. "Pick you up at seven?"

"You don't have to do that," she assured him, "It is out of your way. I can meet you there."

"Bones," he replied, in mock horror. "It is a date. I am picking you up. What kind of boyfriend would I be if I made you find your own way to dinner? You will ruin my reputation."

She laughed, agreeing. "Well I certainly wouldn't want to ruin your reputation, so it looks like I will see you at seven."

* * *

She stood in front of her closet later that day agonising over what to wear. Conscious of the fact that they couldn't continue their act forever she wanted to leave a lasting impression. She eventually selected a black silk dress with a low cut back and high split. It was a little more daring than what she tended to favour, but as far as getting her partners attention she was fairly sure this would suffice, even if it was only for one evening.

She took her time in the shower, enjoying the feel of the hot water rushing over her before drying off and starting to get ready. She twisted her hair up, securing it behind her head and took extra care applying her makeup. She was just stepping into the dress when she heard Booth knock at the door. Reaching for the zipper at her back, she couldn't quite manipulate it in the direction required to secure the dress. She was still fumbling with it when she heard Booth knock a second time, slightly louder this time. Finally getting the zipper up, she checked herself in the mirror before racing for the door.

"Sorry," she told him sheepishly. "I spent a little longer under the shower than I had budgeted for."

"It was worth it," he told her cheekily. "Wow. If that is the result you can spend as long as you like under the shower."

She hit him playfully. "Don't tease." She told him. "Just let me put some shoes on and grab my purse and then we are good to go."

"_I wasn't teasing,"_ he thought to himself, admiring the sight as she scurried from the room, the black fabric clinging gently to her very shapely backside. Wow didn't even come close to describing it. She looked amazing tonight. He took a seat on her couch and his mind took liberties to run away once again.

She returned to the room swiftly, this time in a pair of killer black heels with a small clutch under her arm and he was no less affected by her second entrance than his first sight of her. Failing to form sentences he accepted the hand she offered to help him off the couch and followed her meekly to the door of her apartment. Was it too much to ask that this night never end?

Bones navigated as Booth drove and they were soon nearing their destination. Beyond directions however their trip had been made largely in silence, with neither party wanting to bring up their largely unspoken agreement that tonight they would let Angela in on their secret. Brennan knew that her behaviour was irrational. It wasn't like he was simply going to forget that they were just playing and let this continue indefinitely. In spite of this she could not bring herself to be the one to raise the topic.

Booth too chose to say nothing. She had gotten them into this mess. She could get them out of it as he was damn sure he was powerless to with her looking the way she did at the moment. And so they arrived at their destination, neither knowing what the other was thinking, and neither knowing how their evening was going to play out.

Booth parked the SUV and made his way around to the passenger side, opening the door for Brennan and offering her his hand to assist her out of the vehicle. She took it without protest, giving him a smile and surprising him once again. She had been full of surprises lately. He slipped his arm through hers as they made their way towards the restaurant.

Not surprising was the fact that they had arrived before Hodgins and Angela, so they sat down and ordered drinks and waited for their friends to arrive.

* * *

**TBC**

**And I am sorry, but you will just have to wait for them to arrive also as I need my sleep. If I can get the ideas for my next story to join the queue and let me finish this one I should hopefully have the next chapter up soon. Not too long to go on this story. Hope you are enjoying it. Please let me know either way or if you have any suggestions! Ta muchly!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Time for another instalment in this little ride. I think this was the one that I had the hardest time writing so hopefully I manage to keep everyone in character and get it to flow okay. Let me know if I succeeded once you get to the end. Pretty please?**

* * *

Chapter 15

* * *

Angela and Hodgins approached the table unnoticed by their friends. Observing them together Angela let out a muffled squeal, holding tight to Hodgins arm and pulling him close to her. "They are so cute," She enthused. "Look at them together!"

Brennan and Booth were chatting comfortably, wide smiles on their faces. They were sipping their drinks and appeared completely relaxed, completely unaware of the world around them. Booth was once again making the most of his opportunities to encroach further into her personal space than he would otherwise and had draped his arm lightly across the back of her chair, letting it brush gently against the soft skin that her dress left bare.

Reaching the table, still unnoticed, Angela cleared her throat. "Do you two lovebirds mind if we join you," she asked teasingly.

Both Brennan and Booth jumped slightly, startled by the interruption as well as somewhat disappointed by it. They greeted their friends with guilty smiles having each been silently wishing that something would keep the two of them from arriving.

Angela was thrilled, interpreting the looks on their faces to mean that they were easily transitioning into this new stage of their relationship and were enjoying being alone too much to want to share each other. "Don't worry," she assured them with a laugh. "We will leave you to ravage each other soon enough. You may want to relocate to somewhere more private before you start though. I don't think the other patrons were planning on catching a show with their dinner."

When both parties reddened and neither responded to her jest Angela laughed out loud. "Oh God, don't tell me you two still haven't done it yet. Seriously guys. Slow is one thing, but I am sure that there are species of snail that move faster than you two."

"Absolutely," Hodgins agreed. "The helix aspersa, or common garden snail, has been tracked to move on average at 48.3 meters per hour. Which when considered in relation to its stature…"

Booth cut him off, "Okay, I think we need some ground rules. All conversations about bugs are off limits at the dinner table."

"Sounds good to me," Angela chuckled, leaning in to plant a kiss on Hodgins cheek. "Back to my earlier question then. Please tell me that you two have sealed the deal already."

"I wasn't finished with the ground rules yet," Booth complained. "No talk about bugs, and no discussing our sex life either."

"Or lack of it," Angela observed, reading between the lines.

"I was able to make some good progress today in identifying our latest victim," Brennan observed in an attempt to change the topic.

"No way," Angela retorted. "If I have to play by Booth's ground rules I get to make a few of my own. And the first one is no shop talk. If I am not allowed to talk about sex, you are not allowed to talk about work."

Brennan conceded. "Okay, I agree to your terms. We will avoid all reference to both sexual relations as well as anything pertaining to our cases this evening."

"And bugs," Booth added. "Don't forget the bugs."

They all laughed.

"Okay then. But what does that leave us to talk about?" Hodgins questioned.

"To start with, how about alcohol?" Booth suggested. "Time for a round of drinks." He waved down a passing waitress and she was soon on her way to fill their orders.

Drinks came and the waitress took their dinner orders and they were soon chatting and laughing like any other group on a double date. Booths arm had remained around Bones and she was sitting as close to his side as the chairs would allow. Angela's fingers were entwined with Hodgins, and both couples were stealing quick kisses from time to time. Their meals arrived promptly and they all tucked in hungrily, their boisterous conversation replaced with murmured admiration for the food.

Hodgins reached across and attempted to steal a forkful of Angela's pasta only to be swatted away. "You said it was good," Hodgins whined. "I wanted to see for myself."

"Last time you did that you ate half me meal," she chastised.

He poked his tongue out at her and stole a piece anyway. "Yeah, but you still love me."

"Maybe I love this pasta more," she teased.

"Not possible," he assured her, pulling her in for a deeper kiss.

Booth and Brennan shared a quiet laugh at their expense. "Did you want to try some of mine?" Bones offered him.

"Thanks," Booth nodded and went to move his fork in the direction of her plate, but before he could she had speared a piece of her pasta and was holding it up towards his lips. He willingly accepted the bite offered, letting the taste of it linger in his mouth. "Good," he observed, nodding in appreciation at more than just the food supplied. "Would you like to try some of mine?"

She nodded shyly and he twirled a length of his fettuccine around his fork, holding it out to her. As she took it in her mouth it unravelled slightly, leaving sauce on her chin as she slurped it into her mouth. She went to wipe it away with her napkin, but Booth, unable to resist captured her hand before she had the chance and instead leaned over and kissed the sauce gently off of her chin. Brennan giggled, guiding his face higher with her hands until his lips found hers and they shared a long kiss.

Angela and Hodgins, having surfaced for air from their own embrace immediately began making catcalls and mocking the two, until they broke apart sheepishly.

"Come on guys. I am trying to eat here," Hodgins teased.

"Oh, like you weren't just engaging in a little tonsil hockey of your own," Booth retorted.

"I don't understand what that means?" Brennan complained and the rest of the party erupted into laughter.

"Making out Bones," Booth supplied. "They can't bag us for making out when they were just doing the same thing themselves."

Bones nodded in agreement. "That would most definitely be considered double standards."

And so the evening continued. Neither Booth nor Brennan had forgotten their intent to cancel the charade, but neither of them where prepared to actually make the first move when it came to doing so. As a result, the banter continued as they went about one upping each other and seeing how far they could push the other person. Booth pushed aside his general dislike for putting personal interactions on public display and Bones had risen to the challenge and was testing the limits of dinner etiquette. Hands were drifting higher and higher up each others thighs, kisses were becoming deeper and deeper and the two became almost oblivious to the presence of their friends across the table from them.

While they were engaged in yet another drawn out exploration of each others mouths, Angela signalled silently to Hodgins and they slipped away from the table. "Do you think they would even notice if we left without saying goodbye?" Hodgins asked.

"I think you have just read my mind." Angela agreed. "What do you say we settle the bill and leave them to it? And then maybe we can go have a little fun of our own."

Hodgins didn't need asking twice to agree to this suggestion and the two slipped off into the night before their friends had even noticed they were no longer at the table with them.

Breaking apart eventually Booth and Brennan glanced in the direction of the chairs that had been vacated by their friends. Glancing first around the room and then back at Booth, Bones observed that they must have gone to the bathroom. Realizing that she could do with a visit there herself she left Booth sitting alone at the table and made her way to the powder room. She was surprise however to discover the toilets completely unoccupied upon entering. Confused, she completed the purpose of her visit before returning to the table.

"Angela was not in the bathroom," she advised Booth.

"Yeah," He agreed, "I strongly suspect we have been ditched."

Bones looked at his confused so he reworded his statement. "I think that maybe they have done a runner and left without us."

"Why would they do that?" Brennan asked.

"_I don't know," _Booth thought to himself. _"But I really should thank them for it one day."_ If their friends had truly deserted them it meant that their show was no longer in immediate danger of being cancelled. This thought brought a smile to his face. "I think perhaps we scared them off," he suggested.

"With our overt displays of affection?" she asked.

"Yes Bones," he laughed. "With our VERY overt displays of affection. Now, since we seem to be all on our lonesome, can I interest you in some desert? Or would you like to call it a night?"

"I know a little place that makes an incredible chocolate fudge cake if you are interested," she suggested. "It isn't far from here. Easily within walking distance."

Booth agreed readily to this plan and signalled to the waitress for the bill. She assured them however that the account for the table had already been settled in full, and unless she could interest them in coffee or cake they were free to make their way off when ready. This left it beyond doubt that Hodgins and Angela had indeed done a runner, so the two of them made their way out into the night.

Booths arm found its way around Brennan's was once more as they strolled lazily in the direction of the coffee shop that Bones had suggested. They were soon seated with steaming cups of coffee before them and a large slice of cake between them.

"Stop stealing all the icing," Bones chastised, pushing Booths fork from the frosting to the top of the cake with her own.

Bones laughed, waiting till her fork was busy supplying a piece of cake to her mouth before resuming his assault on the icing.

"I saw that," said Bones.

"What?" he asked, eyebrows raised. He waited until she lifted her fork again and repeated his action.

"I like the icing too," she complained.

"Oh really?" he asked, offering the contents of his fork to her.

She smiled at him, opening her mouth and allowing him to feed her. "Mmmm," she murmured appreciatively.

It didn't take long for the plate to be emptied and their cups drained and they slowly began their journey back to the SUV, neither in any hurry for their evening to end. As all good things must however, it inevitably did, and Booth found himself standing at the door of Bones' apartment. With a quick hug and a peck on the cheek he wished her goodnight before making his way back into the night and in the direction of his own apartment.

Brennan flopped onto her couch, her stomach feeling as though it was doing summersaults in spite of the fact that she knew this was a physical impossibility. She was a mess of emotions and didn't know what to make of the evening that had just taken place. Try as she might to analyse, to dissect and examine the events she felt utterly clueless. And that was not a feeling she enjoyed. Normally when she found herself not understanding an emotional matter she would discuss it with Booth, but on this occasion something held her back. Instead, she found herself tossing and turning most of the night, still feeling completely lost and barely getting a wink of sleep.

Booth on the other hand had made a conscious decision not to ruin an incredible evening by thinking. He could not remember having more fun on a date, real or otherwise and floated home in a daze, completely awestruck by his incredible partner. He was already counting down the hours till he would see her again. The following evening could not come quickly enough for him. His autopilot carried him to his bed, and he found himself tucked under the covers without any real awareness of how he got there, soon drifting off into a very pleasant dream world.

* * *

**TBC**

**You like? I hope so. Please let me know! I love hearing from you and cherish each reply I get!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Sorry for the delay in updating. The subsequent chapters were demanding to be written before this one and I was struggling to make it all fit and maintain the flow. Hope you like it.**

* * *

Chapter 16

* * *

Parker had been at his dads for a little over an hour and was already climbing the walls, wanting to know what time Brennan was arriving so they could play games. All of his Dad's suggestions for activities were shot down with a response of having to wait for Dr Bones to arrive first. Booth would have been jealous of the fact that his son was clearly more excited at the prospect of hanging out with Bones than with him if it hadn't of been for how much he was looking forward to spending some time with Bones himself.

Eventually he reached a compromise with his son. They would go to the park and play for a while, in the hope of burning off some of the boy's excess energy, and he would ring Bones and see if she wanted to come around in the afternoon and have pizza with them for tea rather than waiting and coming around after dinner.

While the boys were at the park, Brennan was sitting at her desk in her office trying to make some progress on her next book. Exhaustion was taking its toll however and she was beginning to consider the merits of going home for an afternoon nap prior to her evening's activities. She was determined to finish the chapter she was working on before she did so however, and this was proving to be slow going as a result of her tiredness combined with the fact her mind kept wandering without her permission. As a result, she was still daydreaming at her desk when the ringing of her phone startled her back to reality.

"Hey Booth," she answered, immediately recognising the number on the display.

Rather than the expected deep voice responding however she was greeted by giggles at the other end. "Wrong, try again," the little voice teased her.

She heard Booth's voice in the background reminding his son to be polite and had to muffle giggles of her own. "Hi Parker," she greeted him.

"How did you know it was me?"

She laughed audibly this time. "I am very clever," she told him.

He agreed with this readily and set about the purpose of his call, pleading Bones to come around early and spend some extra time with them.

Brennan couldn't say no when confronted with such eagerness and assured him that she had to finish off what she was doing first, but that she would head around as soon as she was done.

After insisting she not take too long, the young boy hung up, and Brennan's mind again started to wander. Could it have been Booth's idea to get her to come around earlier? Or was it only Parker that was looking forward to her company? She knew that he obviously didn't mind, otherwise he would not have allowed Parker to ring her, but was he as excited about the prospect as his son was?

Forcing her attention back onto the screen in front of her she continued working for a while, getting things to a point where she would be able to pick up and continue from tomorrow. She then grabbed her purse and jacket and headed for Booth's apartment. She would just have to make do without an afternoon nap.

Knocking on Booth's door a few minutes later she could hear a scramble on the other side of it as the two boys battled to see who could get to the door first. The door opened revealing Booth with his son slung over his shoulder squealing and laughing.

"Hey Bones," he greeted. "Come in."

"Hey Dr Bones," the boy echoed.

"You are just in time to help us choose a game to play."

"Pick Battleship, pick Battleship," Parker pleaded.

Booth laughed at his son. "I was trying to convince Parker to play Mousetrap instead since Battleship is only a two person game where as we can all play Mousetrap together."

"Boring," responded Parker.

Bones looked from father to son, considering how to respond. "Well although I am not familiar with Mousetrap, I do have to challenge your assumption that Battleship can only be played by two people at a time Booth. I see no reason that we could not play with two people operating as a team." She raised her eyebrows at Parker.

"I claim Bones," he squealed, catching on immediately. "Me and Dr Bones, against Dad."

Booth looked at the two faces staring back at him, one full of excitement, the other looking decidedly mischievous, and knew there was no point in arguing.

As Booth had feared, they made a formidable team, and he soon found himself losing game after game. He was enjoying himself in spite of the trouncing he was getting however. He marvelled to himself at the effect his son had on his partner. It was more than just his son enjoying her company, she was relaxed, laughing and even attempting to make the odd joke. It was a side of her that he did not get to see as often as he would like, and he loved it.

Eventually Parker grew bored of Battleship and they set about choosing a new game. Brennan and Parker were voting for Junior Monopoly but Booth was holding out on them. "Only if you two agree not to gang up on me," he ventured. The glance that passed between the two of them told him that he was fighting a losing battle however. Sure enough he was soon found his stack of paper money getting shorter and shorter.

At one stage Parker leant over to whisper something conspiratorial to Bones but his attention was caught instead by her earrings. Boned jumped at the squeal he emitted in close proximity to her ear.

"You are wearing the earrings we got you," he declared proudly.

Happy she had sustained no significant hearing loss Brennan responded with a bright smile. "Yes I am. I had been meaning to thank you for them. They are lovely thankyou. You did a very good job in selecting them."

"I told Daddy that you would like them," he declared.

Booth ruffled his hair. "You did good bud."

Before long Booth was handing the last of his money over to a triumphant Brennan who received an enthusiastic high five from Parker. "I guess that means I will just have to leave you two to fight it out and see who the winner is then. Let you pick on each other for a change without having me to gang up on."

They both laughed at his mock pout and Booth left them to their battle while he went to refresh their drinks and order some pizza.

He was in the kitchen ordering the pizza when part of conversation from the lounge caught his attention.

"Dr Bones, are you Daddy's girlfriend yet?"

His stomach dropped. "Oh shit," escaped from his mouth. He thought they had moved on from this topic of discussion. He was torn between wanting to re-enter the room and rescue Bones from the questioning or to hang back and listen.

"Is everything okay sir?"

"Crap, oh, sorry. Everything is fine. Can you run that by me again please?" He had forgotten he was in the middle of ordering pizza. He hurriedly finished the call before turning his attention back to what was being said in the lounge.

Bones, while caught off guard by the original question was holding it together well.

"Why do you ask Parker?" she had enquired.

"Well you and Daddy spend lots of time together and you like each other lots. So you should be his girlfriend. Daddy needs a girlfriend."

"Why does your Dad need a girlfriend?" she asked, confident that the logic of a seven year old would not pertain to needing a girlfriend to satisfy biological urges and therefore curious as to what his thought process was. The anthropologist in her had been awoken.

"He doesn't have a girlfriend," Parker explained as though it should be obvious. "And if he did it would make him happy. And he is happy when he hangs out with you. So you should be his girlfriend."

Bones smiled. "I don't know Parker, your Dad seems pretty happy to me already."

Parker rolled his eyes. "That is because you are here. That is why you should be his girlfriend, then you can always be around and he can always be happy."

Brennan chose not to correct his logic. Whilst it was by no means true that having a girlfriend would supply the permanent happiness Parker was assuming, Parker's devotion to his Dad was evident and her heart was warmed by it. She chose to say nothing and instead just smiled back at Parker once more.

Parker wasn't done trying to convince her just yet though. "Do you already have a boyfriend Dr Bones?" he asked.

"No Parker, I don't," she responded.

"Then you should definitely be Daddy's girlfriend," he declared triumphantly.

"Maybe your Daddy doesn't want me to be his girlfriend," Bones suggested, her insecurities finding their way to the surface.

"Yes he does," Parker nodded vigorously. "He absolutely does."

Booth, while silently agreeing with his sons sentiments decided that it would be a good time to interrupt and save Brennan from any further questioning on the subject.

"Pizza is on its way," he told them. "How's the game going?"

The conversation turned back to less personal matters as the game wrapped up. Parker finally succeeded in extracting the last of Brennan's cash and was jubilantly dancing around the lounge. Brennan was laughing so hard at his victory dance that she had almost spat a mouthful of her drink across the room. This in turn sent both of the Booth boys into hysterics and they were all holding their sides trying to contain the laughter when a knock at the door signalled that their dinner had arrived.

Booth managed to compose himself enough to pay the delivery boy and they all dug in, enjoying the cheesy goodness before them. Once they had eaten their fill, the boxes emptied, Booth send Parker to the bathroom to wash his hands, giving himself a brief moment alone with his partner.

"I am sorry about the interrogation you were getting," he apologised.

"It really wasn't a problem," Bones assured him. "I find it fascinating to observe the way his mind works."

Booth laughed. He should have known she would completely skip past the personal and turn it into something squinty. Oh well. At least she hadn't bolted.

Parker returned from the bathroom and they decided to switch from playing games to watching movies. Parker selected 'Monsters Inc,' while Booth went to the kitchen to make some popcorn. He kept a close ear on proceedings in the lounge but thankfully the earlier conversation remained closed.

Soon they were all squeezed onto the couch, Booth sitting in the middle between his two favourite people. Brennan's energy levels however were dissipating fast and try as she might to keep her attention on the movie her eyes kept closing on her and the yawns were becoming more frequent. The lack of sleep lately was taking its toll. She eventually gave in to the inevitable and drifted off with her head on Booths shoulder.

Sitting with his son laughing delightedly on one side of him and Brennan snuggled on the other, her head resting on his shoulder, Booth couldn't have been happier. Well maybe he could have been happier if things were 'real' between he and his partner, but this came pretty damn close. The smell of her shampoo was intoxicating. Soft and feminine, and combined with the little noises that escaped from her every now and then it was a good thing that his son was sitting on the other side of him or he would not have been held responsible for his actions.

The movie came to an end and Booth gently awoke Brennan. "Wakey, wakey," he whispered.

Brennan opened her eyes slowly. "Sorry," she apologised. "I should probably head for home. It would appear that I was more exhausted than I anticipated."

She went to stand up but her legs gave out on her and she found herself flopping back onto the couch beside Booth. Yawning and rubbing her eyes she took a deep breath and stood up again, succeeding this time, but far from steady on her feet.

"Are you sure you should be driving?" Booth asked. "Maybe you should just crash here?"

"I'll be okay," she insisted. "I will go splash some cold water on my face before I go. That should wake me up a bit."

She started to make her way towards the bathroom but had only made it a step or two when Booth, alerted by her increasing lean, jumped up from the couch just in time to stop her from falling over. Holding her steady with both arms he reiterated his concern.

"Bones, I really don't think you should be driving at the moment. Please? Even if you just lay down for a bit and maybe drive home later on if you are feeling better. Parker and I are going to sit and watch another movie anyway, so why don't you go lay down on my bed for an hour or two and then see how you feel after that."

She could tell that she was in no fit state to drive, and the thought of sleep at this stage was incredibly appealing so she consented and he began to steer her towards the bedroom. "You pick the next movie bud and I will be back in a moment," he called over his shoulder.

Booth could barely contain his laughter as he led her to his bedroom. In all the fantasies that had flashed his mind lately, this wasn't quite how he was hoping to get her into his bed.

He assisted her as far as the bed, sitting her down on the side, and knelt down to take her shoes off for her. Then he walked over towards his dresser and took out one of his t-shirts. "You can borrow this if you want something more comfortable to sleep in," he told her, placing it on the bed beside her, "But you are on your own with getting changed." The thought of undressing her and putting her in his bed had his body reacting already and he knew there was no way he could go through with such an action and walk away like a gentleman.

She smiled and nodded, thanking him.

"If you need anything just give me a yell," he told her. "Otherwise I will come in and check on you when the movie is done."

She nodded again and he left her to get some rest, returning to the lounge.

"Is Dr Bones okay?" Parker asked when he returned.

"Yes Parks, she is just really tired," he assured her. "And you will be too if we don't start this movie soon. What did you choose?"

Parker held out a copy of 'Toy Story,' which Booth started and they were soon watching in silence but for the laughter escaping from both of them.

When the movie ended, Booth sent Parker to the bathroom to clean his teeth and get ready for bed while he tidied up the remains of the popcorn and drinks. "I'll be there in a moment to tuck you in," he assured him.

"But I'm not tired Daddy," the boy protested his bottom lip protruding. "Can't we watch another movie? Please?"

"Sorry kiddo," Booth replied. "Time for bed."

Parker trudged off to clean his teeth and in spite of his claims that he was not tired he was practically asleep by the time Booth went in to tuck him in. "Night Parker. Sweet dreams. I love you."

"Love you too Daddy," came a barely audible reply.

Booth left his son and wandered down the hall to his own bedroom, standing in the doorway admiring the gorgeous woman asleep in his bed. She had changed into the offered t-shirt and was curled up under the covers cuddling his pillow. He had promised to wake her when the movie was over, but seeing her looking so peaceful and content he couldn't bring himself to do so. So instead he grabbed some track pants and another t-shirt from the drawer and made his way to the bathroom to change before making up a bed for himself on the couch.

Brennan was deep in the most restful sleep she had experienced in a long time. His scent lingered in the bedding surrounding her and she felt warm and secure. A fleeting thought had entered her mind about how nice it would be to be sharing this bed with his rather than alone, but she had snuggled down under the covers and was asleep almost the instant her head hit the pillow.

Booth awoke in the early hours of the morning, his mouth dry from all the popcorn he had consumed the night before. Barely awake we managed to unfold himself from the couch and he made his way to the kitchen to get himself a drink of water. His thirst satisfied, his autopilot carried him down the corridor to his bedroom and he was soon completely asleep once more.

* * *

**TBC**

**Sorry, this chapter was getting a bit long so I thought I should probably leave it there. I will update soon, sooner if you review ;-P**


	17. Chapter 17

**Sorry for keeping you waiting. Hope you enjoy the next chapter.**

* * *

Chapter 17

* * *

Booth was enjoying a pleasant dream. This one lacked the heat and intensity of some of his fantasies, but it was no less pleasant. He was spooning with Bones, inhaling the pleasant aroma of her shampoo that still lingered in her now ruffled hair. His head was nuzzled into the crook of her neck, his arm draped tenderly around her middle. It was comfortable, warm, and it felt right. She may not have been naked nor their actions frenzied but there was something about laying with her holding her that had him in a trance. He sighed contentedly, snuggling closer to her.

Brennan had been enjoying a dream of her own, fantasising about the man curled beside her. As she began to stir however she became aware that there was something different about this dream. The warmth did not fade as she began to awake, nor did the pressure of the arm draped over her. Opening her eyes a fraction confirmed what her other senses were telling her. This was not her bedroom. She felt incredibly well rested, much more so than usual, and she was clothed which suggested that she had not been engaging in satisfying her biological urges. The t-shirt she was wearing was not her own however and there was definitely a very masculine arm wrapped around her.

She tried to recollect the events of the day before, trying to reconcile the events that had led her to this situation. She had spent the morning at the lab before spending the afternoon and evening with Booth and Parker. It was coming back to her slowly. They had been watching movies. She had fallen asleep. He had insisted she was not in a safe state to drive home and as she had been forced to admit he was correct. She had agreed to lie down and rest for a while and had been asleep within moments. None of that explained their current orientation however. Booth was supposed to wake her once the movie was over. Had he woken her? How had they ended up like this?

She lay still, not wanting to alert him to the fact that she was awake, trying to decide what to do. _"Get out of here,"_ a large part of her was screaming and yet she didn't want this moment to end. All the signs were telling her that nothing had happened but even just having Booths arm around her had devoid her of all willingness to move.

Booth was still enjoying his dream. Knowing she would never let him hold her like this in reality, he was clinging tight to the world in his head, willing himself not to wake up. He let his hand move to her hip, running it gently up her side to her shoulder and back down again. Letting it slide down slightly beyond the extent of the t-shirt she was wearing he gradually eased it up once more, this time underneath the shirt, letting his hand caress her soft, smooth skin. It felt so good. So real.

All of her nerve endings were firing explosively at his touch as he let his hand roam under her shirt. What had brought this on? She racked her brains again, trying to make sense of what she was unable to explain. It was more than just her nerve endings he was having an impact on however. Her head was swirling and she could barely string a coherent thought together. All she could think about was the warm hand, tracking up and down her side and how good it felt. How much she wished he would let it drop a little further towards her front and continue his action across her chest. For him to take her in his hands.

He let his hand trail back down towards her waist and let it drop beyond to the lace of her panties and down along her bare thigh. Feeling her shiver he drew her closer to him as his hand continued to roam. He was suddenly shocked back into reality by the sound of his son bounding down the passage and throwing his door open. Except this wasn't reality was it? She was still here? She was still here and his son was jumping on the bed, launching himself on top of them. He rolled back onto his back, away from his partner as Parker landed on top of him.

"Wake up Daddy, wake up!" the boy said. "It's time to get up."

Their dreams had turned into a nightmare. This was not happening. She had to get out of there fast.

"Dr Bones," Parker exclaimed as he turned his attention to her giving her a big hug as well. "Are you going to hang out with us today?"

"Sorry Parker," she said abruptly, "I need to head into the lab. I should really get going."

She exited the bed, pulling the t-shirt down to provide as much coverage as possible and scooping up her clothes from beside the bed she bolted to the bathroom, leaving Booth behind in the bedroom with a very excitable Parker.

"I'm glad Dr Bones is your girlfriend now Daddy," he told his father with a big smile.

"_Girlfriend," _thought Booth to himself, _"After this I will be lucky if she ever speaks to me again."_ But, not knowing how to explain what had just happened to himself let alone his seven year old son he simply ruffled his son's hair. "How about we get some breakfast kiddo?" he suggested.

Booth and Parker weer both sitting eating their cereal when Bones emerged from the bathroom. She had managed to regain a small amount of composure as the hot water ran over her, but she was still keen to get out of Booth's apartment, fast.

"Goodbye Parker," she managed. "I hope you enjoy the rest of your stay with your father."

"Can't you stay a bit longer Dr Bones, please?" the boy pleaded. "You haven't had breakfast yet. Mum and Dad always make me have breakfast before I go out. Breakfast is very important," he told her sincerely.

Bones couldn't help but smile. "Yes, it is," she agreed. "You are right. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But I really need to get some work done. I promise you I will eat breakfast when I get to the lab though."

Parker looked disappointed but didn't argue any further. Booth also chose not to argue. They needed to talk about this, but they could hardly do that with Parker present. He would speak to her soon.

"I will see you on Monday," he assured her, standing up and following her to the door. "We will talk later," he added quietly, once out of earshot. He held her arm with his hand, stopping her progress for a moment and turning her towards him. "We will talk later," he repeated, not breaking eye contact until he received a small nod of acknowledgement. And with that she was gone, leaving him to return to the breakfast table with his son.

Thankfully, beyond being thrilled that Dr Bones was now his Daddy's girlfriend, Parker voiced no awkward questions with regards to having found Bones in bed with him. Glad to have escaped a near miss, he decided he would have to remember to invest in a lock for the bedroom door if he was ever to have Bones and Parker sleep over at the same time again. Not that there was any danger of that happening ever again.

Chastising himself he turned his attention back to his son. "So what are we going to do today Parks?" he asked

* * *

Brennan had made her way to the Jeffersonian, taking the change of clothes from her boot and making use of the small bathroom that adjoined her office. Feeling slightly more comfortable she was attempting to immerse herself in her book and escape reality. Try as she might though, it found its way back into her thoughts at every opportunity and she once again found herself staring at the screen making no progress. She took her hands from the keyboard, leaving her arms on her desk and lowering her head to rest upon them. She needed a way to clear her mind, to get Booth out of her head and let herself concentrate.

Taking a deep breath she opened a new blank document and decided to try an exercise she had used before when the ideas were not flowing in the direction she wanted them to. She began to type wildly. Not thinking about the words flowing through her fingers onto the screen but rather just pushing them out of her mind and onto the page. She continued for nearly 20 minutes without stopping, her words flowing from page to page. Eventually, the flow stopped. She took another deep breath and was relieved to find that this time when she exhaled her mind had stopped racing. Hitting save she closed the document, everything now back into the neat compartments in her mind. Her attention returned to her book and soon she was deep in though once again, but this time making significantly more progress.

* * *

Booth and Parker had decided to return to the park, and after a morning of throwing a football around they had stopped for hotdogs before returning to Booth's apartment. Both covered in dirt and grass stains, not to mention thoroughly sweaty from exertion he had sent Parker to shower before his mother arrived to collect him. Alone with his thoughts he couldn't help but picture Bones sitting at her desk, madly typing away. The hint of a smile that would come over her face as an idea came to her, the flurry of fingers as she madly recorded it. He hoped she had remembered to stop for lunch.

Rebecca knocked on the door before Parker had emerged from the bathroom and he went to let her in.

"Hi Rebecca," he greeted her. "Parker should be out in a minute. We went to the park and ended up in a bit of a mess."

"I can see that," Acknowledged Rebecca, laughing at his dishevelled appearance.

Parker entered the lounge and seeing his mother, ran to her to give her a big hug.

"Hey Parks. How was your weekend?" She asked.

"It was great!" Parker enthused. "Daddy and I went to the park twice, and yesterday Dr Bones came over and hung out with us. She is Daddy's girlfriend now! We had pizza and then she had a sleepover with Daddy. But she didn't stay for breakfast. She promised she would have some at work though."

The words gushed from his son and Booth felt his stomach drop. This was not how he wanted Rebecca to find out about things should he ever be in a relationship that warranted her knowledge.

"Parker can you grab your things and get ready to go for me," he asked. "I am just going to have a quick chat with your mum before you leave.

He motioned for Rebecca to follow him out into the hallway and closed the door behind them. "I'm sorry Rebecca," he stammered, trying to defend himself quickly before she tore him a new one. "Nothing happened I promise. She was exhausted and wouldn't have been safe to drive so I let her crash here. But nothing happened. It isn't like that. We're not…"

Rebecca stared at him, eyebrows raised. "It's not like that?" she asked.

"No, it isn't. We haven't, I mean we didn't…" So many thoughts were swirling around in his head he was struggling to be coherent. He tried again, "We are just partners," he mumbled, staring at his feet.

"For goodness sakes Seeley, how daft do you think I am?"

He looked up at her and realized at wasn't anger she was holding back. She was barely containing her laughter.

"Honestly, you have been smitten with this woman for years, and she clearly feels the same way. Just tell her how you feel already."

"It isn't that simple," he protested.

Her eyebrows arched again. "Because of Parker?" she asked. "Because I hate to break it to you, but the kid is already smitten with her. He would be no less disappointed now if she was to be gone from your life than if you were a couple and something happened."

"Which is one of the reasons I can't afford to go there," Booth sighed. "I can't risk her shooting me down and bolting."

"She wouldn't do that." Rebecca insisted. "I've seen the way the two of you look at each other."

Seeley laughed uncomfortably. "Considering that is exactly what you did, it seems a little ironic that you are standing here giving me relationship advice."

Rebecca put her hands on her hips. "Seeley, why do you think I said no?"

His eyes met hers, questioningly.

"We never had that. What you have. They way you look at each other. We were close yes, but we never looked at each other like that. And you were willing to marry me. Why aren't you willing to take a chance on this?"

"That was different. We had a baby to think about."

"And that is precisely why I couldn't say yes. You were only thinking about what was right for the baby. Not for us. You would have done anything for us, I know. But we would have always been missing something. And eventually we would have grown to resent that in each other."

When he didn't respond she continued. "I set you free so that you could find your soul mate. Someone that completed you. Someone you longed to be with and they with you. I wasn't that person and I cared about you too much to entrap you in a relationship that you didn't want."

He nodded slightly, not wanting to meet her eyes. He understood. The pain of her rejection all those years ago was still there. But she was right. It had been for the best. It made sense. "Thankyou," he managed.

"Now, I am still Parker's mum, so you still get the warning that if you ever do anything that hurts Parker there is going to be trouble. But pursuing Dr Brennan isn't going to hurt Parker. Just remember that if he comes to me with any awkward questions as a result of what the two of you are up to that I am going to send him straight to you for answers. Are we clear?"

Booth nodded again. More definitely this time. "When did you get so smart?" He asked her.

"When did you get so dumb?" she retorted. "Even your son has figured this one out."

They shared a laugh, Booth starting to relax a little and they returned inside to find Parker sprawled out on the floor surrounded by toy cars.

"Hey bud I thought you were getting ready to go," Booth chided.

"I was ready to go. But you two were taking sooo long."

The grown ups laughed again, helping him to throw the cars back into his backpack. Parker gave Booth a big hug in farewell and he and Rebecca made their way out of the apartment leaving Booth sitting alone on the couch, deep in thought.

* * *

**TBC**

**Sorry it took so long to update. This chapter took a while to perfect. Hope it was worth it. Please drop me a note to let me know.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Okay, confession time. I had never watched season 1 of Bones until the last few weeks when I have been catching up. In my efforts to catch up, not only has all my spare time been spent on watching rather than writing, but I discovered 'The man in the fallout shelter,' and as a result I realized what a complete hash I was making of things and how terribly out of character I was leading them. I was about ready to delete the whole thing and pretend that it never existed. But, I have dragged to many of you lovely folk on this little ride and I can't just leave you hanging there like that. It wouldn't be fair. So, I have dragged myself out of my melancholy and back to the laptop and I am just going to tell myself that some serious character growth has occurred in the interval between then and 'now'. This journey is nearing the end and I am determined to bring it to you.**

* * *

Chapter 18

* * *

Brennan was still at her desk, still trying to busy herself in her work rather than think about the events of the last few days. The last few weeks really, because it was more than just waking up in her partners arms that was on her mind. Once again however, try as she might to distract herself, her mind had other ideas. The memories were surrounding her, and with so many to choose from she just could not escape from them. She found herself drifting from the memories into a fantasy world of what might have been if not for being interrupted.

Realizing that distraction was proving fruitless she eventually gave in, moving from her desk to the couch. Laying down with her head resting on the armrest she let her eyes close and her mind drift, allowing her imagination to take her to places that she knew she would never be allowed to go in reality. She had experienced a taste of what a relationship with Booth would be like over the last few weeks. She had never dreamed that she would actually get to do half of what she had been allowed to. Well she had dreamed, she had dreamed a lot, but she had always told herself that it would never happen, that he had a line, that it wasn't in the best interest of their partnership. Now she had had a taste however, she knew she would be left always wanting more.

Wrapping her own arms around herself, her mind was back in Booths bed, his arms around her, his head nuzzled into her neck. Feeling safe and content she drifted from fantasy to rest and was soon sleeping soundly.

Bones had never been one to crave intimacy. She liked to have her biological urges satisfied and was well adept at making sure that this happened, but when it came to kissing and cuddling both after and between romps she could quite happily go without. She enjoyed companionship, but valued her own space more. Never in her previous relationships had she cared to find her bed empty when she awoke. In fact, with many of the men that had assisted in satisfying her urges she was far happier to wake up alone, without any strings or ties. Now however she was feeling an intense longing to have her partner's arms around her once more, to wake up in his arms again and again.

The logical part of her brain had been trying to convince herself that this was something she needed to snap herself out of, that it was a bad idea. She kept reminding herself of his line and the risks to their partnership. She was telling herself over and over again not to go there. She couldn't risk being hurt again, but more than that she could not risk hurting him the way she had been hurt before. In sleep however her logic had been silenced and she dared to wish, dared to hope.

* * *

Booth had remained sitting on the couch in his lounge long after Rebecca had left with his son, trying to absorb the words that had been spoken. Her words had meant a lot to him. The hurt of the past was still there, but it had eased. The rejection that had pained him for so many years was not what he had interpreted it to be and it had given him hope that one day he would have forever. In spite of this, fear still remained. After-all, not only did the person filling his mind not believe in forever, but there was also a strong likelihood that she would seriously main him should she ever find out how large a role she played in his fantasies.

In spite of this, the hope was still managing to poke its head to the surface. The last few weeks had brought them much closer than he ever dreamed possible. And while she had fled this morning after Parker had interrupted them he could hardly hold that against her, and it was not before he had enjoyed a wonderful start to the day. The sort of start he would love to get used to.

His mind drifted back, reliving her scent, her warmth, the feel of her skin. Memories of her lips against his mixes with the sensation of waking beside her and he couldn't help but wish they had not been interrupted. He would have given nearly anything to live in that dream for a little longer. They were interrupted though. And she had done the inevitable and run.

Sighing, he stood up. They were going to have to talk things through at some point and it wasn't going to get any easier. It wasn't just about last night either and he would much rather have this conversation with her now as opposed to in Sweets office tomorrow morning. Grabbing his keys and shutting the door behind him and headed to the Jeffersonian, knowing what he had to do.

* * *

Standing at the door of her office he couldn't tear his eyes away from her. She was curled up on the couch, her hair framing her face, her head resting on the armrest. She looked stunning. Peaceful. Completely at ease. He couldn't bring himself to wake her up so instead he stood, staring blatantly, taking in the sight before him.

She stirred gently and he knew he couldn't risk her waking to find him staring at her. Knocking on the door of her office to alert her to his presence he made his way over to the couch.

'Hey Bones,' he greeted. "Didn't you get enough sleep last night?"

Rubbing her eyes she sat up slowly, glancing at the clock to see how long she had been asleep for. "Have we got a case?" she asked, silently hoping that none of the dream that she had been enjoying had managed to vocalise itself.

"Nah, no case," he replied, trying to conceal his nervousness. "I just knew I would find you hiding out here."

"I'm not hiding. Why would I be hiding?"

"I, um..." Ignoring the confusion on her face he decided to switch to plan B. He didn't really want to have this conversation in the lab.

"I figured that you had been here long enough considering it is a Sunday. What do you say we grab some Wong Foo's? We can take it back to your place and eat."

Surprisingly see didn't argue. She hadn't been achieving what she was hoping to anyway. She grabbed her purse and jacket and followed him out towards the car park.

Before long they were doing something they had done time and time before. Sitting on her couch demolishing the contents of a series of noodle boxes. Somehow things were different this time though. Both of them were on edge and neither was able to relax. Little was said, and what was said was strained.

The boxes were emptying fast and he knew that he had to start the conversation he had been putting off.

"Bones," he started, "About last night. Well this morning really."

"It's okay Booth," she interrupted, "I know nothing happened. I imposed on you due to my state of extreme exhaustion and whilst your intentions were gentlemanly you were sabotaged in a state of semi consciousness by your body carrying out its normal routine without greater awareness."

"No, I don't mean about the fact we ended up in bed together. We sort of, but…"

She cut him off again. "Booth we really don't need to have this conversation. It is fine. Really. I know you don't have that sort of interest in me. We are just partners. There is a line. We are fine. It was completely innocent. We don't need to talk about it."

He had been right. She was hiding. Clearly she didn't want to have this conversation with him. Messing with Angela had been one thing, but obviously waking up in his arms was too much. It had pushed her beyond her comfort zone into territory that she did not want to go. She didn't want to talk about it because she didn't want where it would lead. She didn't want him. Reading the message loud and clear he let the subject drop.

By some miracle she hadn't bolted and if he couldn't have her like that he certainly didn't want it to prevent him from having her in his life. It would kill him, but he was just going to have to bury these feelings once and for all.

Booth stood up and made his way to the fridge to get himself a beer. "Do you want another drink while I'm up?" he offered.

Brennan didn't hear him. She was too preoccupied with her own thoughts. It was all for the best. She couldn't have this conversation with him. His inevitable confirmation that he did not feel for her in that way was nothing something that she was ready to hear. Knowing it to be the case was one thing, being looked in the eye and told it was quite another. No, that conversation was not one she was going to partake in. Making him privy to her feelings would only succeed in making him uncomfortable. It would drive a wedge between them and ruin their partnership. Since their partnership was of greater importance than anything else she was obligated to put any fantasy that she and Booth could be more than just partners completely out of her mind.

"Bones?"

Booth had re-entered the room and was looking at her expectantly.

"Sorry. What was the question?" she asked, trying to read his meaning.

"I asked if you wanted another drink Bones. Is everything okay?"

"I'm sorry. Everything is okay yes. Another drink would be good thankyou."

The continued to sit and not talk well into the evening, soft jazz playing in the background. While they didn't want to talk, neither wanted the evening to end either as they knew that tomorrow they would have to move forward away from the charade they had been playing out. To step back into reality and leave this small foray into fantasy behind them forever. So they stalled and talked about nothing and everything. Anything but what they really wanted to say, until, without either knowing who was the first to succumb, they both found themselves asleep. His arm draped around her shoulder, her head resting on him. In spite of their orientation appearing to be incompatible with sleep, the exhaustion had overtaken them and before they knew it they found themselves in the day they had been avoiding.

* * *

**TBC**

**Sorry, this chapter was very angsty, but there is light on the horizon I promise. Soon, very soon, this little journey will come to an end. Before it does however, they have to face Sweets again, so the next chapter should be much lighter I promise.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Sooo close to the end now. Thanks for coming along for the ride.**

* * *

Chapter 19

* * *

Morning came and found them still contorted on the couch. Brennan awoke first, used to an earlier wake up time than Booth preferred. Stirring, she became aware of the stiffness in her neck and the pain running down the right side of her body. Brushing away the hair that had fallen across her face she opened her eyes and attempted to stretch out the stiffness without waking Booth. Carefully freeing herself from his arm which was wrapped around her she made her way awkwardly to the kitchen to make some coffee.

Booth awoke shortly after she did and could hear her bustling around the kitchen. Unfolding himself he made his way to the bathroom to splash some water on his face, glancing at the clock on the wall as he passed. It had just gone seven, so they had exactly two hours before they were due to be in Sweets office for their weekly visit and not only did he feel like he had been hit by a truck and hadn't slept for a week but the conversation that he had come around here to have had not taken place.

Making his way back down the passage way he passed Brennan who was on the way to her bedroom.

"The coffee is brewing," she told him. "It should be ready in a moment. I am just going to have a quick shower."

"Coffee sounds good," he acknowledged. "I am just going to go and grab a change of clothes from the back of the truck. Back soon."

They were soon sitting across the bench in her kitchen each with a mug in their hands.

"So what are we going to tell Sweets?" Booth asked eventually, breaking the silence.

"What are we going to tell Sweets about what?" she asked.

"About us and this little game that we've been playing."

"I fail to see how it is pertinent that we tell him anything more than what we already have. We met with him last week at which stage we made it known to him that the scenes that he had witnessed were staged and not of the nature that he had originally perceived."

"Bones, this is Sweets that we are talking about. The kid is going to bring it up. And we still haven't told Angela what is going on."

Brennan sat silently for a moment, pondering the facts. "Your point is valid. I agree that the subject is likely to be raised."

"The question is, what are we going to tell him when he asks what is going on?" he pushed. _"And more importantly, what is going on," _he added silently.

"We tell him the truth," she responded.

"And this would be?" he asked.

"That the appropriate opportunity to share the rouse with Angela has not yet presented itself." She silently pleaded with him to drop the subject. It was hard enough knowing that they would never be anything more than just partners without being constantly reminded of the fact.

Booth nodded, not trusting his voice to respond.

"We should get going," she told him.

He nodded again, standing up and grabbing his jacket and making his way towards the door. Best they get this over and done with then. He thought he heard her sigh, but he couldn't bring himself to turn around. He was getting the message loud and clear. The thought of them being anything more than partners obviously something she would prefer not to consider.

Forty minutes later they were shifting uncomfortably on the couch in Sweets office. Neither was prepared to look in the direction of the other person. The tension in the room even had Sweets on edge.

"So let me get this straight," he said, glancing back and forth between the two of them. "The two of you are still engaging in this twisted game that you started with Angela and not only are you refusing to admit to the possibility of it being anything more than a game but you are also yet to put an end to this charade?"

"We told you," Brennan insisted, clearly growing agitated with the line of questioning, "The opportunity to tell her is simply yet to present itself."

"You would have spent at least thirty hours working in the same building since last time that we spoke and you expect me to believe that you haven't had a chance to speak to her?"

"I didn't say that I haven't spoken to her, I said that the appropriate opportunity to discuss the situation with her had not arisen."

Sweets exhaled loudly, his hands moving to his face. "Seriously guys, enough. This has gone on long enough. I am not going to play this game of yours any longer."

"Patient confidentiality precludes you from being able to discuss the content of our sessions with Angela," Brennan stated, arms folded across her chest.

"That may be true Dr Brennan," Sweets conceded, "But as these are department ordered sessions and my purpose is to ascertain whether it is in the best interest for the two of you to remain partners it is my responsibility to disclose any changes in the nature of your relationship. As such, if you choose to continue with this charade I will be forced to pass on this information."

"But you know that we are not actually engaging in a relationship," Brennan protested.

"No," Sweets corrected, "I know that you are telling me that you have not entered into a relationship. You behaviour however should this game continue would lead me to draw alternate conclusions. So either you tell Angela or I will be forced to tell…."

"Yeah, yeah. We get it," Booth interrupted, finally finding his voice. "We will tell her. Just leave our partnership and the FBI out of this."

Booth and Brennan stood simultaneously and both exited abruptly still refusing to meet each others eye.

"Looks like its game over then," Booth observed once they were out of earshot. "So how are we going to break this to everyone?"

"I'll handle it," Brennan responded shortly, eyes fixed straight ahead as she made a determined path for her car.

* * *

**TBC**

* * *

Sorry to leave things on a bit of a downer and sorry the update was so long in coming. THe next chapter should be up soon.


	20. Chapter 20

**Time to break the news to Angela. Don't lose hope though. The ending will be worth it I promise.**

* * *

Brennan found herself dawdling on the way back to the lab. Her logical brain was telling her how irrational it was for her to delay her arrival as the task at hand would still be their waiting to be completed and the passing of time would not make things any easier. In spite of this she was still dragging her feet as she ultimately made her way through the doors and into the lab.

Angela had been awaiting her arrival, dancing from foot to foot with a wide grin on her face. She pounced on her before the doors even had a chance to close behind her.

"Hey Sweetie," she greeted. "Has that super-sexy FBI stud-muffin boyfriend of yours been keeping you up all night?"

"He's not my boyfriend," Brennan snapped.

"Okay," Angela amended, "Has that super-sexy FBI stud-muffin partner who you have been snogging the hell out of all week been keeping you up all night?"

"We are not together okay! The whole thing was just an attempt to make you stop meddling in things that are none of your business. Booth and I are not a couple!"

With that Brennan stalked to her office, slamming the door behind her and locking it before collapsing into her desk chair, tears streaming down her cheeks leaving a very stunned Angela standing among a group of rather confused colleagues who had come to investigate the commotion that was occuring.

"Well that was odd," Angela observed. "And I mean odd, odd. Not Brennan odd.'

"That would be an understatement," Cam agreed.

"I should go speak to her," Angela sighed. Her feet were not convinced to begin moving however.

"You might want to leave her to cool off a bit first," Cam suggested.

"Good idea," Angela agreed rapidly. "I'll be in my office."

Angela made it to her office closing her door before she too found herself collapsing into her chair in tears. This wasn't quite the start to the day she had envisaged.

* * *

Booth had made his way back to his own office and was starring at a mound of paperwork in front of him but making no progress in spite of good intentions. The pleasant daydreams of previous days had been replaced with an overwhelming sense of melancholy.

In spite of doubting that Bones would ever return his feelings, the fantasy land he would escape to was something that helped him push on. It gave him something to hope for and feel positive about in among the negativity, death and despair that their work confronted them with. He dreamed of combining what they had now, their partnership and work together with something even better. Now all of that lay in tatters. Sweets had made things very clear. It was not an option for the two of them to be anything more than what they already were. Should the status of their relationship change Sweets would recommend to their superiors that they be separated.

Having it all was not an option and since he had no reason to think he could have Bones that only left putting her out of his brain and focussing on his work. This was proving easier said than done however and the mound of paperwork he was trying to busy himself with was doing nothing more than taunting him.

She had said she would handle it, and he trusted her to do so, but he needed to see her. If pushed he couldn't have explained why but he knew that he wouldn't get anything done until he did.

He scooped up a pile of paperwork and made his way out of his office and towards the Jeffersonian.

* * *

Seeing Angela retreat to her office Hodgins had not been far behind her. Letting himself in he closed the door behind himself before walking around behind her and embracing the crying artist. They sat together in silence for a long while before either spoke.

"Wow," said Angela eventually.

"Wow," Hodgins agreed with her, stroking her hair tenderly.

"I wasn't expecting that."

"I know."

"I have to fix it. How do I fix it?"

"Ange, Sweetie, you gotta let them fix it themselves. This isn't your fault."

"Yes it is. It is all my fault. Me and my stupid Christmas party. This would have never happened if it wasn't for me."

Hodgins turned her to look at him. Lifting her chin and meeting her eyes. "Angela, this is not your fault." He emphasised before bringing her back towards him and embracing her again. "They will sort things out."

"What if they don't?" Angela asked. "What if this is the beginning of the end? What then?"

"It will all work out Ange. I promise."

"But how? How can you know that?"

"I knew we would find our way back together and get our happily ever after eventually," he reassured her.

"You did?"

"Yup, I did. Just like I know that this is all going to blow over. Trust me."

"This isn't how I pictured this morning going," Angela sighed.

"I know Sweetie. But our news can wait. I am not going to let go of you ever again."

Angela wrapped her arms around him. "Have I told you how incredible you are?"

"Not for at least 2 hours," he joked.

"You are incredible!"

She leaned in capturing his lips with her own and for a few minutes the dramas of the morning were forgotten. When they eventually broken apart her conversation with Dr Brennan was still on her mind however.

"I need to talk to her."

Hodgins nodded, releasing her.

Angela made her way across the room and opened the door to her office but stopped when she saw Booth making a beeline for Brennan's office. He was clearly on a mission and Angela knew better than to interrupt. Closing the door again she walked back to her desk.

"Looks like I will have to wait my turn."

* * *

**TBC**

* * *

Hang in there guys - the end is nigh I promise and (I hope) it will be worth the wait!


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

The end is getting near I promise. And I promise I will make it up to you after all the angst you have endured. Just a few more little bumps to go...

* * *

Tears were still tracking a silent path down Brennan's cheek when a loud knock at the door startled her. She wiped the tears from her cheeks but chose to ignore the knock.

"Bones, it's me," Booth called from the other side of the door. "I need your help with some paperwork."

He was about to knock again when he heard the latch being unlocked and the door opened slightly. He let himself in, closing the door behind him and placing the pile of folders onto her desk before taking a seat on the couch.

Brennan made her way back to her desk without greeting or eye contact. It was clear from the redness rimming her eyes that she had been crying but he elected not to comment on this. She picked up the files that he had placed in front of her and began to leaf through them.

"Booth these are old cases the majority of which did not even include my involvement," she snapped. "I can see no reason that you would need my input on these let alone find it pertinent to barge into my office requesting assistance at this time. I have my own work to do"

He wracked his brains for an alternate explanation knowing that since she had correctly seen through his original excuse there was no point arguing with her.

"I just thought maybe if we worked together we could knock them off quicker and than I could drag you out of here for some lunch to say thankyou."

She looked blankly in his direction. "I have my own work to do Booth and I am quite capable of getting my own lunch."

This was going to be harder than he thought. Doing away with the pretence he tried a more upfront approach.

"I just needed to see you. I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Why wouldn't I be okay?" she snapped.

"Well the fact that your eyes are all red and puffy and that you were hiding away in your office with the door locked suggests that the idea is not totally off base," he retorted.

"This is my office Booth and there are a multitude of reasons for me to be working in here alone with the door locked, just as there are equally as many explanations for why my eyes might be red and puffy. I could be suffering from seasonal hay fever, I may have been cutting onions…"

"Right, you have been sitting at your desk with the door locked, cutting onions," he interrupted.

"I didn't say that. I was merely stipulating that there are numerous scenarios that would account for my current appearance."

"Well then what is the reason for your current appearance Bones?" he asked. "Because I am still not buying the one in which you say you are fine."

"I am not trying to sell you anything Booth."

"No, but you are going out of your way to avoid the question."

"Just leave me alone Booth. I spoke to Angela. It's fixed. It's over. We just have to move on. I am fine."

"You don't look fine," he repeated, concern evident in his voice. He walked over beside her letting his hand rest on her shoulder. "Talk to me Bones."

She sighed. "There is nothing to talk about Booth. Just let me do my work. Please?"

She looked up at him her eyes meeting him for the first time. Seeing the pain in his eyes she immediately felt remorseful for pushing him away but at the same time she was not ready to let him in yet either. "I'm sorry Booth," she acknowledged. "I just need some time and space."

Booth nodded, giving her shoulder a squeeze before releasing it and stepping back a little. "Okay," he conceded. "We don't have to talk about this now. But you don't get to turn into a hermit spending all day and night in the office either. I will get out your way and leave you to it, but I am swinging by here at six and dragging you out of here to get some dinner whether you are ready to take a break or not."

"That really isn't necessary Booth. I am quite capable…"

"Nope, not negotiable," he told her. "I will see you at six." He turned and walked out of the office before she could protest any further, nodding in greeting to Angela who was trying to appear busy not far from the door before making his way out of the Jeffersonian and back to his office.

* * *

Before Brennan had the chance to lock the door behind him Angela burst into her office. The energy flowing through the artist prevented her standing still and she found herself walking in random directions about Brennan's office, her hands waving wildly as the words flowed.

"Okay sweetie you have some explaining to do," she began. "What the hell was that about before and what do you mean it isn't real? I have seen you two together. I know you. I know both of you. This is me you are talking to for goodness sakes. You can't just tell me that it was all pretend and walk away and expect me to just let it drop. You also can't expect me to actually believe that the two of you are that good at acting. I know what I saw and that was not just for show."

Out of words temporarily she paused and stopped her pacing and turned to look at Brennan noticing the tears that were flowing freely down her cheeks once more.

Angela moved quickly to her friend's side, kneeling beside her and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "I'm sorry Bren," she said. "What happened? Please tell me what is going on?"

"It's just. Well. We thought." Brennan struggled to begin not finding the words to explain. "Nothing is going on. Things just all got out of hand. It was a bad idea."

"What was a bad idea?" Angela pressed. "Lets go back to the start of it hon. Start from there."

Brushing the tears aside once more Brennan thought for a moment before taking a deep breath. "Booth and I figured out that you were trying to interfere again. With the Christmas party," she began. "And for some reason we thought that if we played along you might realize that things were not meant to be. But it just grew beyond our control and turned into a big mess."

"Okay, well first of all you two are meant to be together. So I am going to choose to ignore that bit. You will just have to trust me on that one. But as for the rest honey, I am sorry, but you are not that good an actress. You are my best friend. I have known you for years. I know you. And the chemistry and emotion between you and the hunky FBI guy was not something you created just for my benefit. You can't just make that sort of thing up. Even Hollywood can't put on that good a show. Are you trying to tell me that deep down you have no interest in that super sexy man? That apart from getting me to stop meddling you have no desire at all to have that incredible mouth of his pressing up against yours, tasting you, or better yet tasting other parts of you?"

Brennan's tears increased and she let her head fall to her desk, sobbing audibly. Angela held her tighter. "I am going to take that as confirmation you do have feelings for him sweetie. So why the tears? He is clearly smitten with you. He took a bullet for you once and would do so again. What is the problem?"

"We can't Ange." Brennan managed through the tears.

"Because of the line? Because sweetie I think it was about time that damn line was dead and buried."

"It isn't that simple."

"Yes it is. I am pretty sure if you just marched that tight little ass of yours over to his office and planted your lips on his that he would be up to speed with eliminating that damn line pretty quickly."

"We can't though Ange. Even if your assumption was correct that Booth shared any interest or desire in turning this rendezvous into something other than fiction we can't. Sweet's said that if we didn't end it he would have the FBI separate us. We can't. We just need to go back to the way things were."

"Sweet's said that?" asked Angela incredulously. "You are letting a twerpy little teenager tell you who you are allowed to date? I have a good mind to go and kick some sense into that boy right now."

"He is just doing his job Ange. It is the FBI's rules not his."

"That's just stupid. And surely he could just shut up and play along anyway. Just because he is under aged and not getting any doesn't give him the right to spoil everyone else's fun."

"He isn't trying to spoil anyone's fun. They are rules. Just let it go Ange. It is for the best."

Angela sighed. "Well I am not leaving you here on your own moping and hiding behind your work. I am taking you out tonight. We can have a few drinks, go dancing."

"I already promised Booth I would have dinner with him tonight. He is picking me up from here at six."

"That's fine. I can wait till you finish your dinner. Give me a call when you get home and I will swing by and pick you up."

Brennan could tell there was no point in arguing with Angela when she was this determined so she simply nodded agreement. Angela smiled triumphantly. "Excellent," she said. "Make sure you have a good dinner you are going to need the energy."

Brennan managed a weak smile and Angela satisfied for the moment made her way out of her office, silently plotting what would be the best course of action to take next.

* * *

**TBC**

* * *

**Hope you are still enjoying the journey. Thanks for coming on this little ride with me. And as always, reviews motivate me to be less slack and bring you what is to come sooner. It is all written in my head, some of it just still needs to find its way to the screen. Will do my best not to keep you waiting too much longer though.**


End file.
